The Las Vegas Raiders added depth to the secondary through the NFL draft. One of those draft picks was Treydan Stukes out of Arizona, who they picked in the second round to compete at the safety position.
Stukes’ playmaking stands out in his college film, with four interceptions in 2026. With his teammate Dalton Johnson joining him with the Silver and Black, the tandem can take the team in the takeaways department. The best part of Stukes game is his versatility. He played all over the field at Arizona,
having 380 snaps at slot cornerback and 197 inside the box. He added 19 at free safety, displaying that he can help the defensive backfield in a plethora of areas.
Stukes played under defensive coordinator Danny Gonzalez with the Wildcats. Gonzalez runs a pro-style defense mixing coverages to confuse the opposing offense. The former Arizona Wildcat believes it will have him ready to perform in the NFL.
“Yeah, Coach G [Danny Gonzalez], he works in pretty much all different coverages. So, I got the
chance to kind of play some safety, play some nickel, play some middle field safety in all types of different
ways, and different looks. So, I got to learn defensive concepts, instead of just, ‘What do I do in this play’,
and playing a memory game. So, being under Coach G and Coach [Brett] Arce and those guys, they taught
us a lot about schemes and how the defenses work and how you fit into that scheme. So, it’s definitely
been helpful taking this step here, so I understand what’s going on, what we’re trying to accomplish and
understanding my role within it.”
With Stukes being 25 after Week 2, it is expected to see him on the field early on during the season. His intelligence and knowledge of diverse systems should make the transition easier for the young safety.
In other Raiders links:
- Raiders TDL Draft show featuring third round picks: Check out the Tape Don’t Lie crew breakdown the film for Keyron Crawford and Trey Zuhn III.
- Trey Zuhn doesn’t Hold Back on the Raiders’ Fernando Mendoza: Trey Zuhn has high praise for the quarterback Fernando Mendoza.
- Expectations for Fernando Mendoza’s rookie season: Good Morning Football discusses the rookie season of Fernando Mendoza and what he could do on the field for 2026.
