Fernando Mendoza was the headliner pick of the 2026 draft, but there’s no guarantee the Raiders are going to play Mendoza at any point before the middle of the season.
What that in mind, which rookie other than Mendoza will be the player everyone is talking about in Las Vegas a few months from now?
That was essentially the question Raiders voice Jason Horowitz was asked this week, and he pointed to the team’s second round pick moving into the secondary.
“I think Treyden Stukes is the guy,” Horowitz said on Raider Nation Radio’s Morning Tailgate.
“My initial thought is Jermod McCoy. He signed yesterday and there’s a lot… that we’re going to follow with him because his story, his injury, his ability is something that was talked about so much, particularly during the second day of the NFL draft, but certainly during the draft. And I think that’s one that we’re all going to point to.”
“But Treydan Stukes is someone they felt really confident in, and I think he is a guy kind of in that Kyle Hamilton mode where he can be put in a lot of different places to make some plays. And whether that’s making tackles, whether that’s plays on the ball, you know, kind of like a Swiss Army knife type of defensive back. I really am looking forward to seeing, A, how they use him and B, what he can do.”
ESPN’s Adam Schefter had high praise for Stukes prior to the draft
A week before the draft, ESPN’s Adam Schefter said Stukes was one of the fastest rising prospects entering the draft and said at least one NFL general manager had a higher grade on Stokes than he did Ohio State’s Caleb Downs, who went to the Dallas Cowboys at pick 11.
“Arizona cornerback Treydan Stukes seems to be climbing on some draft boards. He has been busy traveling in recent weeks, with 11 top-30 visits, including to Pittsburgh on Wednesday, Kansas City on Tuesday and Seattle last Monday. Stukes had four interceptions last season and ran a 4.33-second 40-yard dash at the combine. Teams say they think he can play both safety positions, nickel corner and outside CB,” Schefter wrote in his pre-draft column in April.
“One NFL general manager called Stukes ‘one of the best safeties I’ve seen [in my time as a GM]’ and added he would draft him ahead of Ohio State safety Caleb Downs. ‘This guy makes freaky plays that I haven’t seen other safeties make.” It would not be a shock to see Stukes sneak into Round 1.”
Schefter didn’t say which GM ranked Stukes ahead of Downs, but it has been reported in a few places that Stukes was the player GM John Spytek wanted in the second round.
“I was pretty early on the Raiders picking Stukes. I think they made up their mind on Stukes a week ago,” The Athletic’s Ted Nguyen said on the Just Win podcast shortly after the draft.
“Stukes was a guy that we talked about that flew up draft boards. [He’s a] highly intelligent player from what I’ve heard. A general manager told Adam Schefter that he would have drafted Stukes over Caleb Downs, which is kind of crazy to me, but I’m telling you… I’ve talked to a few people that really believe Stukes can be special. He ran a 4.3 [forty]. He could play deep. The Raiders needed deep safety and he could play nickel. And I think he will eventually take over that nickel rule from Taron Johnson at some point,” Nguyen continued.
“I think some people see Stukes as a reach, but I could guarantee you he was going to get picked in the second round. He was getting some first-round buzz. So he’s a guy that, like you mentioned, the range shows up. There’s some guys that run a 4-3, but you don’t really see it on film. You absolutely see the range on film, and then he has the ball skills, and he has to cover skills.”
x: @raidersbeat
photo credit: Raiders.com
This guy is terrible. Almost as bad as Papa.