B-
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders finally solved quarterback, and it carried them to a B-.
by Grumzy ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 4 steals
· 4 reaches
They will call it conviction in the building and a reach everywhere else: Kalil Alexander, 76 picks early at No. 219. Solid and sensible more than spectacular: a B-.
The whole projection now runs through Fernando Mendoza; hit there and everything else looks smarter. If one pick saves this weekend, it is Hunter. The Raiders indulged a want in Clark while a need in offensive lineman stayed open.
They punted on offensive lineman, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest.
A tidy weekend of work that should hold up just fine.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 1 they get a franchise quarterback. A real need, handled.
A clean, defensible pick in pick No. 36 with a little surplus value in Denzel Boston. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They will replay Lee Hunter at No. 67 for years; that is how good the value is. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Value with a capital V on Zakee Wheatley in the 102nd overall pick, a genuine coup. A minor itch, scratched.
The needs board was loud and they turned it down, spending Round 4, Pick 17 on Bud Clark with offensive lineman unsolved.
A slide stopped in slot 134, with Will Lee III worth more than the price. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
J'Mari Taylor at the 175th overall pick is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Kaelon Black at pick 185 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Riley Nowakowski at pick No. 208 jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They talked themselves into Kalil Alexander at No. 219, and the board did not agree. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.