The Raiders are hoping to compete in the AFC West with Fernando Mendoza at quarterback and another class in the books for general manager John Spytek—but we would have done things a lot differently based on the Wolf Sports board.

 

Actual selections

1.01: QB Fernando Mendoza

2.38: S Treydan Stukes

3.67: EDGE Keyron Crawford

3.91: G Trey Zuhn III

4.101: CB Jermod McCoy

4.122: RB Mike Washington Jr.

5.150: S Dalton Johnson

5.175: CB Hezekiah Masses

6.195: WR Malik Benson

7.229: DL Brandon Cleveland

 

Wolf Sports selections

1.01: S Caleb Downs

6.38: CB D’Angelo Ponds

3.67: CB Jermod McCoy

3.91: G DJ Campbell

4.101: LB Harold Perkins Jr.

4.122: DL Zane Durant

5.150: QB Jalon Daniels

5.175: WR Deion Burks

6.195: TE John Michael Gyllenborg

7.229: WR J. Michael Sturdivant

 

Thoughts

The primary takeaway here is that we would have traded the No. 1 overall pick to the highest bidder—which ideally would have been the Jets to allow for another trade down after to really load up on draft capital. Instead of building around Fernando Mendoza, we would have targeted Jalen Milroe in a trade with the Seahawks.

 

With that not being an option for this exercise, Caleb Downs was the No. 1 prospect on our board, so Mendoza—who we like—wouldn’t have been the choice as our No. 19 overall prospect and No. 2 quarterback behind Ty Simpson (who was No. 18 overall). We’ll see how Mendoza fares over the next few seasons in a division with Patrick Mahomes, Bo Nix, and Justin Herbert.

 

On Day 2, the Raiders boosted the defense with Treydan Stukes as a playmaker in the secondary, and Keyron Crawford is a speed rusher to complement Maxx Crosby. After that, Trey Zuhn III was a good value as a versatile offensive lineman who could immediately start at guard. We would have gone all-in on boosting the cornerback group with D’Angelo Ponds and Jermod McCoy as two excellent man-to-man cornerbacks, and then DJ Campbell would have been our choice at guard late in the third round.

 

To begin Day 3 in reality, Las Vegas ended up getting McCoy to end his fall, took Mike Washington Jr. as a big-play threat behind Ashton Jeanty in the backfield, and took Treydan Stukes’ best friend and long-time college teammate Dalton Johnson—which could be a wise move with chemistry being an underrated factor at times. Our trio to begin Day 3 would have been Harold Perkins Jr. to fill in behind Nakobe Dean and Quay Walker (also college teammates), Zane Durant as the penetrating presence the Raiders don’t have, and Jalon Daniels as the shot at quarterback having not taken Fernando Mendoza.

 

Finishing things out, the Raiders got Hezekiah Masses as another cornerback that fits their archetype on the perimeter similar to Darien Porter and Eric Stokes, then took a speedster at wide receiver with Malik Benson, and added to the defensive front with Brandon Cleveland—compared to our would-be selections of Deion Burks, John Michael Gyllenborg, and J. Michael Sturdivant to boost the offense.

 

In general, the haul for Las Vegas appears more promising than a 2025 class that didn’t have very good early returns, but things for the current regime will come down to Mendoza.