Excitement is still high surrounding the Las Vegas Raiders’ 2026 NFL draft class, but the Raiders’ roster still has a few holes. That’s one of our focuses for this week’s mailbag, as well as beginning to look ahead at the upcoming season.
Q: What is the weakest link on the defense currently (position, not player), and would it be worth it to address this season via available free agents or roll with what the Raiders have and target next year’s free agent/draft classes?
A: It has to be defensive tackle.
There’s the obvious void at nose tackle, and the two other starting spots (assuming the 3-4 base defense) are going to be up for grabs during training camp. That being said, the Raiders do have several young players at the position between Jonah Laulu (26 in June), Thomas Booker (26), JJ Pegues (24), Tonka Hemingway (24), Brandon Cleveland (22 in August), etc.
So, I’d rather see the front office give those guys an opportunity to prove themselves and then address the position next offseason if there’s still a need. This spring, I’ve been operating under the assumption that John Sptyek likely has a two-year rebuild plan anyway, so I don’t think it would make much sense to bring in a veteran defensive tackle as a one-year rental.
I know he signed with the Giants this week, but would adding someone like D.J. Reader elevate Las Vegas into being a legitimate playoff contender in 2026? I like Reader’s game, and he’d be the best defensive tackle on the roster, but you’d have a hard time convincing me that he or any free agent defensive tackle who is available at this stage is all the Silver and Black need to get over the hump right now.
Stick to the plan of building for the future and see what the team has in the young guys.
A: That’s definitely oversimplifying it. There’s an art to being able to take on double teams and hold your ground with over 600 pounds of force barrelling down on you, and having the stamina to do that throughout an entire game. Now, if someone is saying that it’s simpler than other positions, especially from an assignment perspective, I can buy that.
There’s more nuance to the position, but for the most part, the primary responsibility is pretty straightforward: sit in the A-gaps and don’t move. Then again, the difference between an average and a good-to-great nose tackle is the ability to shed blocks, cross the center’s face and make tackles near the line of scrimmage. That takes a mastery of the technique and unique movement skills for someone who also has to have the size to hold up against double teams.
For Tasi, I do think his rugby background translates better to nose tackle than it does at offensive line. There are a lot of parallels you can draw from a rugby scrum to playing gap control on the interior defensive line, and he doesn’t have to worry about the passing game much at nose. But I still think people need to temper expectations from Tasi.
His first football game was in August, and he’s now playing/learning two positions in as many years. Tasi does have the combo of size and unique movement skills to develop into a quality nose tackle, but there are plenty of guys who fit that description and played football for over a decade, but don’t make it in the NFL. If he surprises and rises up the depth chart during training camp, that’s awesome! However, I wouldn’t go into the summer expecting that to happen.
Q: Ideally, what do you think the starting secondary should look like?
A: It depends on what Jermod McCoy’s situation is like with the second knee surgery, but if he’s healthy, it will likely be McCoy and Eric Stokes starting at outside cornerback. I’ve always been a big fan of Darien Porter’s game and thought he showed promise as a rookie to be a starter, but the first-round talent is the better player of the two. McCoy could easily be the best corner on the roster; it’s just a matter of what’s going on with his knee.
At nickel, trading for Taron Johnson signals that the plan is for him to start this season. I’m not a huge fan of that because Johnson is older and not a long-term solution, but I’d be surprised if he isn’t the primary slot defender in Las Vegas next season. Granted, maybe Treydan Stukes takes that job, but I like Stukes to start at free safety over Isaiah Pola-Mao and think the rookie’s future is brighter at safety. Then, it’d be Jeremy Chinn at strong safety.
To summarize: McCoy and Stokes at CB, Johnson at Nickel, Stukes at FS and Chinn at SS.
Q: Where would you rank Fernando Mendoza as a prospect? I heard a Drew Bledsoe comparison. Better upside than Baker Mayfield, you think? How about Bo Nix and JJ McCarthy?
A: I’ll keep this one brief since I touched on this a handful of times leading into the draft.
I’d put Mendoza in the same category as C.J. Stroud as a prospect, and would rank him third behind Drake Maye and Caleb Williams if we combine the last three quarterback classes. Admittedly, I was too low on Jayden Daniels, though, so I could see the argument for Daniels over Mendoza. Still, I definitely think the latter has better upside than Nix and McCarthy. Mayfield gives me more pause, but Mendoza’s size advantage gives him a slightly higher ceiling, in my opinion. My comp for him is Matt Ryan.
A: It will be a big mural on the ceiling of Allegiant Stadium so that our savior can always look down and watch over us, while we can look up at him whenever we want. That will also give us someone to pray to when the Raiders need a big play in a game.
Q: I’m glad Maxx Crosby is still on the team, but could they have gotten a number 1 WR with that Ravens pick? Is Brandon Aiyuk the Raiders’ number 1 WR to start the season?
A: The top two receivers, Carnell Tate (fourth overall) and Jordyn Tyson (eighth), were off the board by the time pick 14 came around. So the Raiders’ best chance at getting a “WR1” with the Ravens pick would have been KC Concepcion, who didn’t get taken until the 24th pick. For the record, I think Makai Lemon (20th) is a good slot receiver but doesn’t fit the “No. 1 receiver” description, while Concepcion offers more versatility.
Had the Crosby trade not fallen through, I think Las Vegas would have taken Rueben Bain Jr., who was drafted one spot later by the Buccaneers at pick 15.
As far as Aiyuk goes, adding a diva receiver who is disgruntled with his current team despite getting the $30 million per year contract he was looking for seems like a move that would be very on-brand for the Raiders over the last 20 years. And I mean that as negatively as possible!
Q: With the addition of another running back in the fold, any chance of seeing both on the field at the same time? Will running backs be utilized in the passing game more with both and Mendoza at the helm?
A: Klint Kubiak is a creative play caller, so I’m sure he’ll have some two-back sets where Ashton Jeanty and Mike Washington Jr. are in the backfield together as a change of pace. That’s a good way to keep defenses honest and force linebackers to hesitate, since there are two big threats to get the ball on a run play.
With the passing game, neither Jeanty nor Washington has extensive route trees out of the backfield, but both can be used on swing passes and screens to get them the ball in space and involved as receivers. Jeanty did that a lot during the 2023 season at Boise State and had 43 catches for 569 yards and five touchdowns that year. Same with Washington last year, and he had 28 grabs, 226 yards and a touchdown.
Q: What’s a realistic sign this season that the Raiders are on the right path?
A: Don’t expect much in terms of wins and losses this season because this is going to be a young team that’s likely going to struggle to begin the campaign. Along those lines, the best barometer for the Raiders being on the right path this season is if the team shows growth by the end of the season. I think a good way to measure it would be to compare how they play and the numbers from the first to the second half of the season, and that applies to individual players as well.
Ideally, by the end of the year, the Raiders will primarily have players from the last two draft classes and this year’s free agent class in the starting lineup or at least as significant contributors. If those guys are growing and being productive in the second half of the campaign, then Las Vegas is in a good spot heading into 2027 and beyond.
A: It looks like Robertson was incorrectly reported as a UDFA signing and, as you mentioned, was just a minicamp tryout. He isn’t on the Raiders roster and was wearing No. 9 during rookie minicamp, but Jalen Nailor has that number on the roster. So, it sounds like the Baylor product’s tenure with the club was short-lived and just last weekend, barring him getting signed in the coming weeks or ahead of training camp. As far as I can see and as of Friday morning, Robertson is still available if the coaching staff wants to bring him back.
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.
