B
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders finally solved quarterback, and it carried them to a B.
by aechean ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 12 picks
· 4 steals
· 3 reaches
The one hole that towered over the rest is filled. The Raiders spent their marquee pick on Fernando Mendoza, and for the first time in a while there is a real answer at quarterback.
Reaching for Allar left real value on the table behind him. They banked enough surplus on Burks to cover a lot of smaller sins.
The edge rusher spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at. It is a bet on later, and a defensible one for a team playing the long game.
A workmanlike haul that should hold up just fine.
Pick-by-Pick
By-the-book stuff, Fernando Mendoza at Round 1, Pick 2 squarely in line with his ranking. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Dillon Thieneman at pick 36 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
Nicholas Singleton in the 67th overall pick is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A real head-scratcher, Drew Allar in the 103rd pick is miles ahead of his ranking. The roster fit checks out.
They barely believed it either: Deion Burks still on the board at slot 117. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Taking Malik Muhammad in No. 118 is close to grand larceny; a cornerback that good had no business lasting this long. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Parker Brailsford in pick No. 134 lands just on the right side of the ledger. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Ar'maj Reed-Adams in the Round 5 slot is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Domani Jackson at No. 185 is the proof. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They robbed the room for Keagen Trost here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
No edge and no loss on Jeremiah Wright in the 219th pick; it is a wash and a sensible one. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A premium they did not need to pay, Robert Spears-Jennings a notch or two before his time. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.