2026 NFL Team Draft Page

2025 Draft Grade: A-

After spending much of the Draft cycle believing the Jeanty-to-Raiders buzz fell into the "too obvious" category, Raiders GM John Spytek made the "fantasy football" pick and made his son happy by selecting arguably the best back to enter the Draft since Saquon Barkley. There's no denying that Jeanty is an elite prospect at his position, and he fits the culture of what Pete Carroll wants to build in Vegas. It's also hard to dispute naysayers who would argue that this is a "luxury pick" for a team with a lot of needs. At the end of the day, though, the Silver & Black got the best player available, and I have a feeling few will be complaining when he posts stellar numbers throughout the 2025 campaign.

For those who entered the Draft concerned with the voluminous needs, there is refuge in the fact that the Raiders were able to make 11 picks - expanding their pool by turning two Day 2 selections into four. WR Jack Bech joins Jeanty as a near-certain starter on next year's roster. He's not explosive, but he's a physical competitor with a high floor who should be a more-than-adequate WR2 pretty qiuickly. The upside of CB Darien Porter - especially paired with coaching from Pete Carroll, who's proven to maximize players like this - was hard to pass up in RD3. He may struggle to earn a starting spot as a rookie, but it's not hard to see him turning into a steal long-term. The Raiders rounded out Day 2 with a "high floor" versatile OL in Caleb Rogers and then landed a "high ceiling" LT prospect in Charles Grant.

In their first Draft together, Pete Carroll and John Spytek brought competence and strategy. The word "competitor" is applicable with every selection made. And, nearly every selection possesses ELITE athletic traits. WR Dont'e Thornton was taken in RD4 and is my favorite selection. While he won't be asked to be more than a WR4 in Year 1, this kid has an All-Pro ceiling. The Raiders added two DL that have impact traits in Tonka Hemingway and JJ Pegues (a major steal in RD6). Montana State product Tommy Mellott projects as a very solid WR5/special teams star, and North Dakota State QB Cam Miller projects as an above-average QB after a year or two. I like the selection of Cody Lindenberg in RD7, but the LB position is probably still the most concerning after a solitarty late selection to bolster the room. There's a lot of volume here, tons of high upside, a great mental make up, and significant reason to believe that the Raiders landed a few stars and a number of contributios in this class.

With the foundation built, the Carroll Era is underway. He's added guys that fit his culture, and he's upgraded the talent. However, the Raiders did not spend heavily in free agency, and they have few players locked up long-term. Look for a lot of experimenting in this upcoming season as the Raiders gear up to really take a leap in 2026. Whether or not the team extends Jakobi Meyers or Kolton Miller looms large - as does Malcolm Koonce's potential return (he's on a one year deal) and Christian Wilkins' health. The most clear projection, however, is that the emphasis will shift to Defense, which received only 3 selections compared to 8 on offense, with a definite major need at LB and a lot of questions that will need to be answered on the field this season.