The Las Vegas Raiders’ 2026 draft is over. Here are some thoughts after Day 3:
Raiders’ general manager John Spytek is not afraid to wheel and deal. He showed it as a rookie GM last year when he slid down twice in the second round. This year, he took a slight trade down in the second round and then swung four trades, going up and down and even trading a player in Tyree Wilson, to New Orleans.
Advertisement
Spytek is still a new general manager but he is clearly confident in the draft room and has a feel for making deals.
A big storyline in the draft process was that the Raiders were studying and visiting with several top-end wide receiver prospects. In the end, the Raiders, though, didn’t address the position until the sixth round when they took Oregon’s Mailk Benson.
Like so many Raiders’ draft picks, Benson is a speedster. he could compete with 2025 fourth-round pick Dont’e Thornton for a roster spot. Benson can also return punts, which will help him.
It seems like the Raiders are good with free-agent addition Jalen Nailor and holders Tre Tucker and Jack Bech being the primary wide receivers. There are still some free-agent options such as Jauan Jennings (who played for Klint Kubiak in San Francisco), but Las Vegas may stick with what they got at the position.
Advertisement
Another position that the Raiders were expected to address early but didn’t was defensive tackle. They did take a nose tackle with their final pick, No. 229 in the seventh round, in the form of North Carolina State’s Brandon Thompson. Perhaps they will look at the remaining veteran market.
The Raiders showed a commitment to rebuilding the secondary as they drafted four defensive backs, including three on Saturday.
There isn’t much left from Dave Ziegler/Josh McDaniels draft classes. No players remain from the 2022 class and after the trade of Wilson, just Michael Mayer, Tucker and Aidan O’Connell remain from the 2023 class.
Advertisement
Speaking of O’Connell, there was some speculation the Raiders could trade him. But for now, he remains the No. 3 quarterback behind Kirk Cousins and Fernando Mendoza. That could change, though.
Fifth-round pick, Cal cornerback Hezekiah Masses had the quote of the day, saying he’s “coming in to change program around.” Spytek preaches culture and character and the Raiders focused on that in this draft as much as speed and athleticism, which they also seemed to acquire.
My favorite pick: Arkansas running back Mike Washington. I just have a feeling he might turn into a hell of a player.
In the end, the Raiders took six defensive players and four on offense.
Read the full article here