AFC West · 2026 Draft Class

Las Vegas Raiders 2026 NFL Draft Class

Every Raiders selection in the 2026 NFL Draft, the needs they entered the weekend with, and the trades that reshaped their board.

Compiled by the NFL Mock Draft Simulator research desk · Front office at the time: John Spytek (GM), Klint Kubiak (HC)

The class

Las Vegas Raiders made 10 selections in the 2026 draft, opening with Fernando Mendoza, a quarterback out of Indiana, at No. 1 overall.

The class skewed toward safety, where they used 2 picks. In total they drafted 8 different positions.

Going into the weekend our board had their priority needs listed as Quarterback, Defensive Tackle, Wide Receiver, Cornerback, Interior Offensive Line, Offensive Tackle. They addressed 5 of their 6 pre-draft needs directly: Quarterback, Defensive Tackle, Wide Receiver, Cornerback, Interior Offensive Line. Left unaddressed: Offensive Tackle.

Their best value relative to the consensus board was Jermod McCoy at No. 101, 89 slots later than the industry board had him ranked (12).

Draft capital

Raiders draft capital broke down as 1 Day 1 pick, 3 on Day 2 and 6 on Day 3. 1 of those were compensatory selections, awarded for free-agency losses in the prior cycle. 7 were slots they did not own when the weekend began, acquired by trade.

Pick by pick

Every Raiders selection, with where it landed against our consensus board and against their own pre-draft needs list.

• Round 1, No. 1: Raiders took Fernando Mendoza, within 0 slots of his board ranking of 1. It was their single highest-priority need going in.
• Round 2, No. 38: Raiders moved on Treydan Stukes on Day 2, paying 28 slots of premium rather than risk the wait. Safety was not on their priority needs list, a best-player-available call.
• Round 3, No. 67: Raiders moved on Keyron Crawford on Day 2, 20 slots early, which is what a team does when it has decided the board is wrong. Edge Rusher was not on their priority needs list, a best-player-available call.
• Round 3, No. 91: Raiders moved on Trey Zuhn III on Day 2, 22 slots ahead of his board ranking, which is conviction rather than value.
• Round 4, No. 101: Raiders took Jermod McCoy on Day 3, a board-rank 12 player who fell 89 slots below where the consensus had him.
• Round 4, No. 122: Raiders took Mike Washington Jr. on Day 3, a board-rank 85 player whom the rest of the league passed on across 37 slots of board value. Running Back was not on their priority needs list, a best-player-available call.
• Round 5, No. 150: Raiders spent a late-round flier on Dalton Johnson, a board-rank 256 player. Safety was not on their priority needs list, a best-player-available call.
• Round 5, No. 175: Raiders took Hezekiah Masses on Day 3, a board-rank 152 player who fell 23 slots below where the consensus had him.
• Round 6, No. 195: Raiders took Malik Benson at board rank 246, a late lottery ticket rather than a statement. Wide Receiver was their No. 3 listed need.
• Round 7, No. 229: Raiders took Brandon Cleveland on Day 3, within 14 slots of his board ranking of 243. Defensive Tackle was their No. 2 listed need.

Pre-draft needs

Our needs assessment for the Raiders going into the 2026 draft, ordered by priority. This is the list the class above is measured against.

Draft-day trades

• With Houston Texans: sent No. 36 (R2), No. 117 (R4); received No. 38 (R2), No. 91 (R3).
• With Buffalo Bills: sent No. 102 (R4); received No. 101 (R4).
• With Atlanta Falcons: sent No. 134 (R4), No. 208 (R6); received No. 122 (R4).
• With New Orleans Saints: sent No. 219 (R7); received No. 150 (R5).
• With Tampa Bay Buccaneers: sent No. 185 (R6); received No. 195 (R6), No. 229 (R7).

Related

• Round 1 results: every other pick made around the Raiders' first selection.
• Position rankings for the groups they drafted: Quarterback, Safety, Edge Rusher, Interior Offensive Line, Cornerback, Running Back, Wide Receiver, Defensive Tackle.
• The 2026 consensus big board: where every one of these players ranked before the draft.
• Every trade from the 2026 draft: the full ledger, including the Raiders' moves.
• Steals and reaches: which picks diverged most from the board, and what that gap means.
• The draft by the numbers: positional supply, school production and how draft capital was distributed.

More on the Raiders

The Las Vegas Raiders franchise hub carries the current front office and needs, plus every other class we cover.