The 2026 NFL Draft is in the books, and the consensus seems to be that the Raiders turned in one of their best drafts in recent memory.
Draft grades don’t mean a lot (especially this soon), but ESPN’s Mel Kiper gave the Raiders an ‘A’ for their efforts last week, with his one criticism being fair.
“There were a lot of strong picks [after the Mendoza pick],” Kiper said of the Raiders draft on Sunday.
“Treydan Stukes is a versatile safety who wears a lot of hats. He can stick with receivers in coverage (4.33-second 40-yard dash), he can hit and he can make plays on the ball (four interceptions last season). If not for a torn ACL in 2024 that cost him a chunk of that season and the first few games of 2025, he might have done enough to warrant a first-round pick. Keyron Crawford can bring some depth and juice to the edge rush.”
“Outside of Mendoza, Round 4 could define the rest of the Raiders’ draft class. To kick off Day 3, Las Vegas stopped Jermod McCoy’s slide. McCoy was in the conversation for CB1 in the class all season based on his tape and attributes. But he suffered a torn ACL in January 2025, missed the entire season and sat out the combine. I kept him at No. 29 on my board, but it’s clear teams weren’t comfortable with how the knee was progressing. When healthy, he’s excellent and picked off four passes in 2024. But will he get healthy? At this point in the draft, it’s worth finding out,” Kiper continued.
“And then Vegas picked Mike Washington Jr. Ashton Jeanty, last year’s No. 6 pick, isn’t going anywhere, but Washington can bring a speed factor to the table. The 6-1, 223-pound running back ran a scorching 4.33 in the 40 at the combine. Per ESPN Research, it tied for the fastest 40 time over the past 20 combines for players weighing at least 220 pounds (joining DK Metcalf and Isaac Guerendo). He can add a pass-catching factor on third down, too. Getting my RB3 at No. 122 is a win.”
“I do wonder where the receivers are, though. Las Vegas was working on improving the supporting cast around Mendoza, signing Kirk Cousins as a veteran mentor and Tyler Linderbaum as his new center. But the skill positions left a lot to be desired beyond the team’s past two first-round picks, tight end Brock Bowers and Jeanty. Tre Tucker and Jalen Nailor are still the top two WRs on the roster. I would have thought Zachariah Branch or Antonio Williams would have been in play in Round 3.”
For now, Tre Tucker is the most accomplished wide receiver on the Vegas roster, but it would make sense to see the Raiders make a move for a veteran wide receiver before the start of the season.
Tucker might not fit the description of a true no. 1 wide receiver, but there’s no question he has a professionalism and work ethic the new coaching staff is going to appreciate. A year ago, former Raiders offensive coordinator Chip Kelly was as complimentary of Tucker as any offensive player on the roster.
“He’s been great, and I think he’s probably our best practice player,” Kelly said of Tucker in October.
“We always talk about you sync to your level of training. And he trains at such a high level, he’s playing at such a high level. And it’s a great point for all, especially our young players, that you can kind of point out that what you see out of Tre every day, and holy smokes, when you look at the GPS numbers and what he’s running in practice and doing, and then all of a sudden you turn on the tape and he’s doing the same exact thing,” Kelly continued.
“He’s got these three or four passes over 20, getting behind people, but that’s what he does in practice, also. He’s kind of that what you want to show as a guy, like this is how you practice, that means this is how you’re going to play. And he’s a great example of that.”
x: @raidersbeat
Kiper can evaluate college players, but if he knew about NFL team needs he would be working during the season, not just in the Spring.. I’m not overly concerned about not taking a receiver early, once the “A” class receivers were off the board, they are all reaches, so taking one late is safer. There’s a dozen of these guys recycled in the FA pool every year. I wished we would would have taken a DT earlier, I’m not sure about Cleveland, he plays with attitude, from his highlight package. He’s in the big boy league now, and he’s a seventh round pick, so worth a shot, but probably a project.
I was saying all pre-draft that WR was not nearly the need it was being made out to be by the pundits. The Raiders proved that they agree with me.
Bowers is the #1 target and will do what a #1 WR does: command 125+ targets, be the go-to go in the clutch, and be the guy the defense has to account for on every play. There’s not room for two of those on a team that is going to be running Kubiak’s run heavy offense.
Nailor was signed to big bucks to play every down. I expect he gets 80+ targets. Tucker is capable of at least 60 in a competent passing system. Then you have Bech, who is a better prospect than anyone that was available after the Stukes pick (remember he was a 2nd that some said had late 1st round talent last year), who can easily be the possession gut and round out the top 3 WRs that will total 200+ targets combined.
Add in another 60+ thrown to RBs, and maybe 60 towards Mayers and random other TE/WRs, and that puts you at 450 pass attempts for the season. Unless this is a team that plans to pass 500+ times this season, they have more than enough at WR from guys that as a combo can stretch the field, provide mid level play action target, make chain moving possession catches, and all of them can block.