It’s no secret that the Las Vegas Raiders’ roster lacks a true No. 1 wide receiver heading into training camp, even after a full offseason, including free agency and the 2026 NFL draft. But there are a handful of veteran receiver options still available who could fill the need and give rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza another weapon to throw to.
ESPN’s Aaron Schatz recently outlined one final offseason move each team in the league should make, and suggested the Raiders should sign former New England
Patriots’ wide receiver Stefon Diggs.
“Diggs was the dependable No. 1 target who helped the Bills’ Josh Allen significantly improve,” Schatz wrote on June 18. “Then he was the dependable No. 1 target who helped the Patriots’ Drake Maye significantly improve. So why wait for Fernando Mendoza’s second season to get him a dependable No. 1 target who can help him significantly improve? The Las Vegas receiver depth chart is severely lacking, and Diggs was still good enough to finish second among wideouts last season in ESPN Analytics’ receiver score. This one seems like a no-brainer.”
It’s a fair point, and Diggs was productive last year with 85 catches for 1,013 yards and four touchdowns during the regular season, on top of 14 grabs, 110 yards and a score during the Super Bowl run. Also, it helps that he spent the beginning of his career with the Minnesota Vikings, playing with Las Vegas’ other quarterback, Kirk Cousins, in 2018 and 2019. That also coincides with head coach Klint Kubiak’s first season as the Vikings’ quarterbacks coach (2019), for another connection.
Meanwhile, the Raiders are currently constructed to begin the season with a collection of wide receivers who have never had more than 700 yards in a single season. Tre Tucker’s 696-yard campaign last year is the highest of any wideout on the roster, as the position group is filled with young and unproven talents.
Diggs, an 11-year veteran and four-time Pro Bowler, has recorded at least 1,000 yards in every season that he’s played in more than eight games since 2018. So, he’d certainly add some credibility to the Raiders’ current wide receiver room.
The question is, is the 32-year-old willing to play for a rebuilding team, and for how long? He’s running out of options at this point in the game, but the front office has prioritized the long-term vision for the team with the majority of its offseason additions so far.
In Other Raiders’ Links:
- Mendoza Mania Part V: A film breakdown of the No. 1 pick’s game against Iowa in S&BP’s summer series.
- Defensive position battles to watch: “The Raiders starting DL will basically all be battling for their jobs this training camp,” via S&BP’s Tristen Kuhn. “It’s a truly tough room to sort out, more because they are likely one of the worst rooms in the league. Thomas Booker showed to be a good pass rusher on the interior, and I think he has a very good chance to start in 2026, though Booker’s inability to play the run will drag down his true odds.”
- Get to know tight ends coach Luke Stekel: “‘I worked on “Fast & Furious,” Stekel told Levi Edwards of the Raiders’ website. “…It was the fourth movie in the franchise, a lot of the success of that movie was going to be the reason for [making] more and obviously it did well and they’ve made about 100 more since (laughter). That was a unique experience.”
- Mendoza meets Tom Brady for first time: The team’s X/Twitter account released a video to promote a new “Behind the Shield” episode, and the clip captured the moment Mendoza met his childhood idol for the first time at the NFL Combine.
