OTAs are underway for the Las Vegas Raiders, as we’re at the very beginning stages of Klint Kubiak’s coaching staff evaluating the roster. Of course, we still have a while before training camp and are a long way away from the 53-man cutdown day, but this is the NFL where no one is safe and plenty of roster moves can happen between now and the start of camp. On that note, let’s get into this week’s mailbag.
Q: I see a lot of people seem to be downplaying Darien Porter as if they don’t expect too much
from him. I was pleased with his rookie year. He gave up some catches but was always tight. I expect him to make a big jump. I think he can be elite by year three. What say you?
A: Porter was one of “my guys” heading into the 2025 draft, so I’ve been a big fan of his game for a while. He has unique traits for the position and was solid as a rookie, in my opinion. So, I’m with you that the third-round pick has a high ceiling and can be a very good player down the line.
The problem is, and this is likely why some are downplaying Porter, there’s a good chance he isn’t a starter this season. Eric Stokes will enter training camp as the Raiders’ CB1 since he was the better player last year, and Jermod McCoy is the most talented corner on the roster. Also, Porter doesn’t have the short-area quickness, physicality and run-defense chops to play nickel.
In other words, I like Porter’s game a lot and think he has a bright future, but he will have to fight to keep his starting spot, and the odds don’t seem to be in his favor. That’s not to say the second-year pro won’t have a chance to keep his job or won’t have a role off the bench if he doesn’t, especially if McCoy’s knee isn’t 100 percent, but Porter certainly isn’t a sure-fire starter right now.
Q: Why isn’t anyone talking about the Raiders’ rookies that haven’t been signed yet? I believe it’s their first- and third-rounder. Is there a reason Fernando Mendoza hasn’t put pen to paper?
A: For the record, Las Vegas has signed seven out of ten draft picks so far, with Mendoza, Keyron Crawford and McCoy accounting for the three outliers, according to The Football Database.
No one is talking about this because it’s not a big deal. Unsigned rookies can still participate in OTAs and mandatory minicamp, and the three above were present at practice this week, according to ESPN’s Ryan McFadden. So, this isn’t an issue until training camp rolls around, when every player has to be under contract before they can participate.
If you’re worried about this, go outside and touch some grass. LOL! There are still two months before everyone needs to sign, and as long as everyone is good to go by July, this is a non-issue at this point.
Q: Do you see any more free agents added before training camp?
A: I could definitely see the Raiders adding a few players over the next couple of months, especially a wide receiver. It’s just a matter of whether guys like Stefon Diggs, Deebo Samuel, Keenan Allen, etc., are willing to play for a team that’s entering year one of a rebuild at this stage in their careers. I would think they are prioritizing going after a ring, but who knows.
That’s kind of the issue with adding players at this stage. Any player that’s available right now isn’t going to be the difference between Las Vegas being a contender or not, and if the goal of this offseason was to build for the future, does it really make sense to add an older player who will probably only play for the team for a year? I would think not, but I can also see the coaching staff asking to get more veteran voices in the building.
Q: What’s going on with Laki Tasi? I know he was reverted back to DT and that’s it. Any updates? Looks bigger? Lost weight?
A: For those that don’t know already, I’m not at practice (I don’t even live in Vegas), so I don’t have any insights into how things are going in Henderson, Nevada, other than what’s been publicly reported. For what it’s worth, Tasi is listed at 6-foot-6 and 373 pounds on the Raiders roster, which is heavier than what he was originally billed at coming out of the IPP program.
Also, I think the lack of news about him is because the team isn’t in pads yet and won’t be until training camp. That makes it nearly impossible to evaluate any lineman, especially a nose tackle.
Q: How does a team protect a practice squad player?
A: Every Tuesday during the season, teams can designate four players as protected. It’s similar to the waiver wire, where teams submit a form or claim to the league on which practice squad guys they want to protect every week.
A: They don’t even throw with the same hand…
A: I’ve been saying it since the Ravens trade fell through; I won’t rule out anything when it comes to trading Maxx Crosby.
Especially if the Raiders aren’t winning at the beginning of next season, he’ll be the subject of trade rumors until the deadline passes. Then, expect those conversations to pick back up in the offseason. That’s just the nature of the game when a rebuilding team has a five-time Pro Bowler who is approaching his 30s on the roster.
So, I definitely think it’s a possibility that Crosby gets traded during the season. However, it seems the fences have been mended since the Baltimore fallout. And I don’t agree that he thinks he’s bigger than the team. Maxx wants to win more than anything, and he asked to be traded because the organization’s primary goal is building for the future rather than winning right now. I get that from his perspective since he doesn’t have many prime years left and has only played in one playoff game in his career.
Now, how long the reunion (or just union, since he technically never left) lasts is fair to question. Again, I wouldn’t expect the Raiders to be competing for a playoff spot this year, and I don’t know how much patience Crosby has left. And as far as his rap career goes, I have no comment. LOL!
A: I’ve been saying for a while that Dont’e Thornton Jr. is on the hot seat. He isn’t a good fit with Klint Kubiak, while a guy like Malik Benson is. Thornton will have a chance to prove himself this summer, but it wouldn’t surprise me at all if he gets cut or traded by the end of training camp. If that happens, hopefully another team liked the Tennessee product’s traits enough to give up a sixth- or seventh-round pick for him so the Raiders can salvage some value.
A: I’m not going to do any sort of points per game prediction because that would just be pulling a number out of a hat and throwing it at the wall. But to answer your other questions, I wouldn’t expect a dramatic one-year turnaround under Kubiak. I can’t stress enough that this is going to be a young team that’s probably going to struggle out of the gates.
This season is just about making progress along the way, and that could mean taking baby steps. Getting back to being a respectable offense in 2026 would be an accomplishment for this team, considering the starting point.
If you want to look at the improvement from a PPG standpoint, I’d split the season up into halves or quarters and compare the data. Ideally, the Raiders will improve throughout the campaign and thus, score more points as the weeks go on.
A: Between the coaching change and offseason additions, especially Tyler Linderbaum, I think there’s a good chance the Raiders’ offensive line gets back to being about an average unit in the league. So that’s hovering right around the Top 15 mark, and anything higher than that would be an overly optimistic projection at this point.
Again, I’ll stay away from any stat predictions, but I will say that I’m very interested to see how Kubiak uses Bowers. He’s a creative offensive play-caller, and referring to Bowers as a “football robot from heaven” tells me that the gears are already turning in Kubiak’s head, thinking of all the ways he can use the robot.
I will give you one way too early stat prediction/hot take: I think Tre Tucker flirts with a 1,000-yard season this year. Tucker has been getting better and more productive every year, leading the team with 696 receiving yards last season. I’ll set his line at 899.5 yards in 2026.
A: Easy answer for me: offensive line.
A rookie quarterback and a bad offensive line are a recipe for disaster, and I’m not taking any chances when it comes to protecting Mendoza. If I’m Kubiak and John Spytek, I’m keeping as many linemen as possible to make sure that the future of the franchise has the best five protectors that I have at my disposal in front of him every week.
I get where you’re coming from with the wide receivers and would like to see what guys like Jack Bech, Thornton (if he makes the team) and Benson can bring to the table, too. But I’m prioritizing minimizing the risk of Mendoza taking too many hits first. Plus, the logic you’re using with the receivers can also be applied to Caleb Rogers, Charles Grant and Trey Zuhn III.
I’ll put it this way: if the Raiders are in a position to draft Jeremiah Smith next spring, are you letting a late-season push by say Benson prevent you from taking Smith?
That’ll do it for this week’s mailbag. Thank you all for submitting questions and, as your weekly reminder, if you’d like to have your questions answered in a future column, tweet them at me, @MHolder95, email them to SBPQuestions1@gmail.com or look for our weekly call for questions on the site. The latter will continue to publish on Thursdays.
