The Las Vegas Raiders are a long way away from having to make the final 53-man roster decision, and currently have a small army after making 10 picks in the 2026 NFL draft, signing 18 undrafted free agents and inviting a handful of players to rookie minicamp. But the conclusion of the draft gives us an opportunity to get an early look at who will be entering training camp on the roster bubble, and that’s going to be especially significant with the defensive backs after John Sptyek used four out of his
10 picks on the position group.
Quarterback
Starter: Kirk Cousins
Backup: Fernando Mendoza (R), Aidan O’Connell
Cut: Sawyer Robertson (R), Jacob Clark (R)
The biggest question at quarterback is: When does Mendoza take over as the starter? That should happen eventually, but right now, Cousins is expected to be the Raiders’ QB1. Then, it’s a matter of whether the coaching staff wants to keep three quarterbacks and if that’s O’Connell or one of the undrafted rookies. Considering he’s entering a contract year, it wouldn’t be surprising if AOC gets traded to a team that’s looking for a backup.
Running Back
Starter: Ashton Jeanty
Backups: Mike Washington Jr., Connor Heyward (FB), Dylan Laube
Cut: Chris Collier, Roman Henby (R)
Klint Kubiak has his two-back system in place with Jeanty and Washington leading the charge, and Heyward will be the lead blocker out of the backfield. Meanwhile, it feels like Laube is entering a “now or never” type of season, needing to prove himself heading into year three. His competition is less with the other running backs on the roster, where his primary focus should be on winning the kick and/or punt return duties.
Wide Receiver
3-Wide: Tre Tucker, Jalen Nailor, Jack Bech
Backups: Dareke Young, Malik Benson (R)
Cut: Dont’e Thornton Jr., Phillip Dorsett II, Shedrick Jackson, Brenden Rice, E.J. Williams Jr. (R), Chase Roberts (R)
I went with “3-wide” here since the “starters” at wide receiver can vary from week to week depending on how much 12-, 21- and 22-personnel Kubiak has in the game plan. Also, there is an assumption here that the Raiders will only keep five receivers, which can change by the time we get to training camp. If six are rostered, Thornton is the prime candidate to get bumped up.
To be honest, though, the distinction between the “backups” and “cut” receivers is about as pure a guess as possible. This is a position group that lacks talent heading into the season, where anyone can make a name for themselves and earn a roster spot over the summer. So, the 2025 fourth-round pick should be on high alert and needs to step up in year two.
Tight End
2-Tight: Brock Bowers, Michael Mayer
Backups: Ian Thomas, Carter Runyon
Cut: Albert Okwuegbunam Jr., Matt Lauter (R)
It will be interesting to see how many tight ends Kubiak wants to roster, especially since fullback Connor Hewyard has some experience playing in-line. If it’s only three, Runyon would get bumped down to “cut” right now, though he could easily take Thomas’ spot. It also wouldn’t be surprising if another veteran is added to the position group ahead of training camp.
Offensive Line
Starters: Kolton Miller, Caleb Rogers, Tyler Linderbaum, Jackson Powers-Johnson, DJ Glaze
Backups: Charles Grant, Trey Zuhn III (R), Spencer Burford, Jordan Meredith
Cut: Atonio Mafi, Will Putnam, Layden Robinson, Isaiah Jatta (R), Curtis McClendon
The two starting guard spots are very much up for grabs. Granted, Powers-Johnson is the heavy favorite to land one of those jobs, but Rogers, Zuhn, Burford and Meredith will certainly be duking it out. The latter two are the more likely cut candidates if someone else on the bubble steps up.
Defensive Line
Starters: Jonah Laulu, JJ Pegues, Thomas Booker IV
Backups: Adam Butler, Brandon Cleveland (R), Tonka Hemingway
Cut: Laki Tasi (IPP), Gary Smith III (R), Brodric Martin, Treven Ma’ae
All three starting spots at defensive end/tackle are up for grabs, especially if the Raiders are moving to an odd front. While Pegues is listed as the starting nose tackle right now, that’s extremely fluid, as he’ll have to fend off Cleveland, Smith, Martin and Tasi. That could give Smith the best chance of Las Vegas’ UDFAs to make the roster. At the end/tackle spots, it feels like Laulu is the top dog and Hemingway has a good chance to start by beating out Booker.
If you’re wondering why Tasi is listed here instead of offensive line, where he played last year, The Athletic’s Sam Warren recently noticed that the former rugby player was working with the defensive tackles during the early stages of offseason workouts. He originally signed as a defensive lineman last spring.
EDGE
Starters: Maxx Crosby, Kwity Paye
Backups: Malcolm Koonce, Keyron Crawford (R), Charles Snowden
Cut: Brennan Jackson, Jahfari Harvey
Baring a trade, where Koonce would be the most-likely candidate, it seems like there shouldn’t be much drama at edge. Maybe Jackson or Harvey beats out Snowden for a roster spot, but the latter logged nine starts and was a solid run defender last season.
Linebackers
Starters: Nakobe Dean, Quay Walker
Backups: Tommy Eichenberg, Cody Lindenberg
Cut: Segun Olubi, Jamin Davis, Xavian Sorey Jr. (R)
We’ll see how many off-ball linebackers the coaching staff keeps, as that could depend on how many edge defenders get rostered. Olubi has a good chance to make the team since he’s a special teamer, and while The Bergs were one of my winners from the draft, they still shouldn’t feel safe. Eichenberg and Linderberg are the favorites to make the team, but no one is safe outside of the two free agent signings.
Cornerbacks
Starting nickel personnel: Eric Stokes, Darien Porter, Taron Johnson
Backups: Jermod McCoy (R), Hezekiah Masses (R)
Cut: Decamerion Richardson, Chigozie Anusiem, Greedy Vance
Richardson is the cornerback that’s feeling the heat the most. He’s purely an outside corner, and the front office just added two competitors at that spot in the draft. That being said, this could end up being a “redshirt year” for McCoy, where he gets placed on the NFI list to begin camp and takes a year to recover from the reported second knee surgery that he needs. Even so, Richardson could still be in trouble if Masses plays well in camp and Vance proves to be a valuable nickel option.
Safeties
Starters: Jeremy Chinn, Treydan Stukes (R)
Backups: Isaiah Pola-Mao, Dalton Johnson (R)
Cut: Tristin McCollum, Tanner Wall (R)
It will be interesting to see what the coaching staff’s plan is for Stukes, as he can also play nickel. If that’s the case, then the math at safety changes and Pola-Mao will be back in the starting lineup. But if the second-round pick takes over at free safety, IPM could go from starting 31 games over the last two seasons to looking for a job.
Specialists
Starters: AJ Cole, Matt Gay, Alex Ward
Cut: Kansei Matsuzawa (R), Tyler Duzansky
Normally, I’d say “who cares?” when it comes to the specialists. However, only Cole is safe as the Raiders will have position battles at kicker and long snapper! I wish I could tell you that I have some sort of read on this, but to be honest, I’m just rooting for ‘The Tokoyo Toe’ because that’s an elite nickname. It also helps that he went 27-for-29 on field goal attemps and a perfect 40-for-40 on PATs last season.
