It’s Week 12 and the Las Vegas Raiders are set to take on the Cleveland Browns. However, most people (rightfully) are less concerned with the game and more focused on the 2026 NFL draft and free agency,
taking us into this week’s mailbag with an emphasis on the offseason.
A: People aren’t going to like this, but this is why I think the Raiders are looking at at least a two-year rebuild and wouldn’t mind using a “redshirt” year if they draft a quarterback in April. There are so many holes on the roster that the team’s problems aren’t going to get solved in one offseason, and, to your point, they run the risk of ruining a young QB’s confidence by rushing him onto the field with a subpar supporting cast.
I do like your idea of getting a couple of offensive linemen in free agency, especially if they can target younger guys who are looking for their second contracts. Those are hard to find, though, since the teams that drafted them typically don’t let them hit the open market if they’re any good.
Hopefully, we’ll get a chance to see if Caleb Rogers and Charles Grant can be part of the solution before the offseason, but Pete Carroll seems to be standing in the way of allowing that to happen.
Q: Given the dead cap of Christian Wilkins and likely Geno Smith, how would you go about prioritizing filling the roster in free agency and the draft?
A: Even with Wilkins accounting for nearly $30 million of dead cap right now, the Raiders are projected to begin the offseason with the second-most cap space in the league at $108.2 million, per Over The Cap. If they do cut Smith in the spring, that will add to their dead cap total, but the organization will free up $8 million of cap space.
OTC has Geno as a $26.5 million cap hit if he stays on the roster, and the number drops to $18.5 million if he gets cut. He has an $8 million roster guarantee that comes into effect on March 15, so the Raiders would just have to cut him before that date to save the money.
As far as free agency goes, I’d apply the same philosophy mentioned above with the offensive line by targeting players who are looking for second contracts at any other position to add more young talent to the roster. In the draft, stick to getting the best player available in each round, even if that means doubling up on positions.
Ultimately, this roster has too many needs to get picky when it comes to what positions to address this offseason. So, I’d just go after as much young talent as possible.
A: I don’t have personal top fives at offensive tackle and cornerback, so I’ll defer to the Bleacher Report big board for those positions. For those who don’t know, I contribute to B/R’s scouting department as the defensive front seven scout, in full disclosure. I will say that Utah right tackle Spencer Fano and LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane have caught my eye this season as a couple of first-round options for the Raiders.
My top five for edge defenders right now are:
- Rueben Bain Jr., Miami
- David Bailey, Texas Tech
- Cashius Howell, Texas A&M
- Keldric Faulk, Auburn
- T.J. Parker, Clemson
Oregon’s Matayo Uiagalelei is a close No. 6.
At defensive tackle:
- Peter Woods, Clemson
- LT Overton, Alabama
- A’Mauri Washington, Oregon
- Christen Miller, Georgia
- Kayden McDonald, Ohio State
Some people have Overton as an edge since he’s a hybrid type of player, and I think Faulk can fall into that category, too. I will say that I’m not a huge fan of this defensive tackle class, though. Woods is the only guy I have a first-round grade on right now.
A: Right now, Fernando Mendoza is my QB1. I think he’s a good processor pre- and post-snap, handles pressure in the pocket and adversity well, and has a solid-to-good arm to make NFL-level throws. I battle back and forth between Dante Moore and Ty Simpson for QB2, where the College Football Playoff could be the deciding factor for me.
I know Jayden Maiava is having a pretty good season, but I haven’t gotten a chance to dive into his game yet. So, Maiava is more TBD for me.
Q: What should the Raiders football team be thankful for this season of Thanksgiving?
A: A potential top-five draft pick. The fact that Ashton Jeanty could rush for 1,000 yards despite playing behind a terrible offensive line this season. Granted, the last one is stretching it since Jeanty is currently on pace for 940 yards. I try to be optimistic, but this season has drained it out of me. There isn’t much to be thankful for if we’re being real.
Q: Not sure if I have just missed it, but it puzzles me where Mark Davis’s head is at & of course the Raiders’ saviour Tom Brady? Let’s throw GM Syptek in there, too. Obviously, they all agreed or may not have to allow Pete Carroll & Chip Kelly to set the Raiders back another ‘n’ number of years…are they embarrassed to admit a huge mistake?
A: We’ll find out at the end of the season if Davis, Brady and Co. decide to start handing out pink slips. I know I mentioned before that I didn’t think there was a disconnect between Spytek and Carroll, but I’m walking that back with the information that came to light this week. If you missed it, there was a report that Spytek and Carroll aren’t seeing eye-to-eye on who should be getting playing time, and then another report surfaced that Caleb Rogers and Charles Grant aren’t ready to play.
In other words, there’s a lot of finger-pointing going on between the coaching staff and front office, which leads me to believe someone is getting fired at the end of the season. It’s C.Y.A. season in Las Vegas.
Q: You heard that Caleb Rogers looked bad at guard in practice. Have they even looked at him at his true college position – tackle? Can he be worse than DJ Glaze or Stone Forsythe there?
A: I’m not at practice, so I can’t answer that question. But there’s a reason why Rogers was considered a guard prospect rather than a tackle, and it’s because he struggles to protect the edge in pass protection. I’d give Grant playing time at tackle before even considering sliding Rogers out there.
Q: How does Laki Tasi look at practice? He was so dominant with ZERO experience in the preseason. Does he even get any reps? Why not try him?
A: I think you’re overrating Tasi’s performance in the preseason. He played well for someone who had never played football before, but nothing screamed that he was ready to see the field in an actual game. Also, you’re talking about a sample size of 30 plays.
Playing a guy who didn’t pick up football until a year ago would be doing him and the rest of the team a disservice. There’s no reason that Tasi should hit the field before Rogers or even Atonio Mafi.
Q: Considering that K’Lavon Chaisson was one of the few bright spots for the Raiders last year and he was once considered a top prospect, and he’s now having a great year with 6.5 sacks for New England, what does it say about Las Vegas’ head coach, defensive coordinator and general manger’s player evaluation when they let him go and kept Malcolm Koonce, Tyree Wilson and Charles Snowden? Chaisson wasn’t even expensive.
A: It adds to the long list of bad decisions this regime made this offseason. I don’t know what else to say other than that, lol.
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.
