Quarterback

In 2024, the Raiders went 4-13, but their defense ranked 10th in schedule adjusted efficiency and they felt that trading for quarterback Geno Smith and using the 6th overall pick on running back Ashton Jeanty would be enough to bring their offense, which ranked 29th, up to the same level, which would have put this team into the position. Smith had been at least a decent starter for the Seahawks over the previous three seasons, which was much more than you could say about any of the quarterbacks who started for the Raiders in 2024, while Jeanty was considered an elite running back prospect and also looked like he could significantly upgrade what was position of weakness for the Raiders in 2024.

The Raiders’ defense remained decent in 2025, ranking 13th in schedule adjusted efficiency, but Geno Smith regressed quickly in his mid 30s, Jeanty did not move the needle in year one, and the Raiders top-4 other offensive players, tight end Brock Bowers, left tackle Kolton Miller, wide receiver Jakobi Meyers, and right guard Jackson Powers-Johnson, all either missed significant time with injury or, in the case of Meyers, were traded mid-season when it was clear this team was going nowhere and should trade away valuable players in the final year of their contract. The result was an offense that arguably was even worse in 2025 than 2024 and a 3-14 record.

The good news is the Raiders were bad enough to receive the #1 overall pick, which they used on a potential franchise quarterback in Fernando Mendoza. The Raiders also were able to attract the top head coaching candidate of this cycle, Super Bowl winning offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak of the Seattle Seahawks, who was likely in part attracted to this job because of the opportunity to work with Mendoza. With a bright offensive mind calling plays for him and likely a healthier supporting cast than a year ago, which was also supplemented in free agency, the Raiders are doing what they can to give Mendoza a chance to reach his potential. 

Mendoza might not start right away though, as the Raiders are taking a long-term approach to his development and signed veteran Kirk Cousins to start until they feel comfortable switching to the rookie. Cousins is even older than Geno Smith, going into his age 38 season, and he posted almost an identical passer rating to Smith in 2025 (84.8 for Cousins, 84.7 for Smith), but Cousins is unlikely to start the whole season and having a smart veteran to help Mendoza with his development should be a good thing for him. I wouldn’t expect great things for either quarterback in 2026, but the Raiders seem to be taking the right approach, even if the short-term result isn’t likely to be a lot of wins right away. 

Grade: C+

Receiving Corps

The player who the Raiders would benefit most from having fully healthy for the whole season is tight end Brock Bowers, who is their best offensive player. Only a rookie in 2024, the 14th overall pick was one of the best tight ends in the entire league in his last healthy season, breaking numerous rookie records and finishing with a 112/1194/5 slash line and a 2.02 yards per route run average. However, in 2025, Bowers suffered a knee injury early in week 1, which limited him to 12 games, while inhibiting him in numerous others, leading to him finishing with just a 64/680/7 slash line and 1.70 yards per route run. Now going into 2026, Bowers has figures to bounce back at least to his 2024 form if he can avoid another major injury and it is possible that his third season in the league ends up being his best one yet, still only in his age 24 season, possessing a sky high upside, in what could be the best offense he has played in as a professional.

Bowers will essentially be the Raiders #1 receiver, as the Raiders’ wide receiving room was one of the worst in the league last season after trading away Jakobi Meyers and the only notable addition they made this off-season was signing ex-Viking Jalen Nailor to a 3-year, 35.03 million dollar deal. A 6th round pick in 2022, Nailor has averaged just 1.20 yards per route run in four seasons in the league, with a career high in receiving yards of 444 in a season. None of that suggests there is much upside with him, but it is worth noting that he had his highest season receiving yardage total in 2025, when the rest of the Vikings’ receiving corps all had down years due one of the worst quarterback situations in the league. 

It is possible the Vikings’ poor quarterback situation last season masked a mini breakout season from Nailor, who could continue that with a better offense and a higher target share in 2026 and beyond. Nailor also has averaged 15.4 yards per catch, 9.35 yards per target, and a 12.6 average depth of target in his career, showing a consistently deep ball ability. He probably won’t be anything resembling the #1 wide receiver the Raiders need, even in an absolute best case scenario, but he could have by far his best statistical year yet in 2026.

The Raiders also have a pair of second year wide receivers who could take a step forward in year two, although they have a long way to go to even be capable wide receivers, with 2nd round pick Jack Bech finishing his rookie year with 1.16 yards per route run and a 20/224/0 slash line on 29 targets and 4th round pick Dont’e Thornton finishing his rookie year with 0.53 yards per route run and a 10/135/0 slash line on 30 targets. 

Bech and Thornton will probably compete for the #3 wide receiver role in 2026, while Tre Tucker, the de facto #1 wide receiver after Meyers was traded, is likely to start opposite Nailor in two wide receiver sets. Tucker finished last season with career highs in catches (57), targets (92), yards (696), and touchdowns (5), but he was still a marginal starting wide receiver at best. In three seasons in the league, he has averaged just 1.08 yards per route run, including 1.20 in 2025. He’s still only going into his age 25 season, but it is very possible the 2023 3rd round pick just doesn’t have another level.

The Raiders could use an above average amount of two tight end sets in 2026 to try to mask their lack of depth at wide receiver. Backup tight end Michael Mayer is not nearly as good as Bowers and has largely been a disappointment since being selected in the 2nd round in 2023, averaging just 1.08 yards per route run in his career, but that jumped to 1.48 yards per route run in 2025 and, even if he averages less than that in 2025, he is probably better than most #2 tight ends. A likely healthier year out of Brock Bowers will be a big boost for this offense, but the rest of this receiving corps is still a big concern.

Grade: B-

Offensive Line

The Raiders’ offensive line is probably their most improved unit compared to a year ago, with left tackle Kolton Miller returning from missing 13 games, right guard Jackson Powers-Johnson likely healthier after missing 9 games, and center Tyler Linderbaum being added in free agency. The newcomer Linderbaum could be the best of the bunch. A first round pick in 2022, Linderbaum has been an above average starter since his rookie year and has developed into a borderline All-Pro caliber player. The Raiders paid a massive price to add him, giving him a 27 million dollar annual salary that dwarfs the second highest paid center at 18 million, but he will at least give the Raiders a high level player and at a position that was a major weakness last season. 

Kolton Miller has also been a high level player in his career, though there is some doubt whether or not that will continue in 2026, as he is going into his age 31 season and coming off of a major injury. Miller still played at his prime level in 2024 and before his injury in 2025 though so, even if he isn’t as good in 2026, he should still be a welcome re-addition to this offense, especially given that his backup Stone Forsythe was a liability in his absence last season, but he might not be quite as good as he used to be.

Powers-Johnson has not been a high level player, but the 2024 2nd round pick has been decent in each of his first two seasons in the league and is still only going into his age 23 season, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if 2026 is his best season yet, especially if he is healthier than a year ago. Right tackle Delmar Glaze is also going into his third season in the league and the 2024 3rd round pick has also been decent in two seasons in the league (31 starts). He too could have his best season yet in 2026.

The one potential weak spot on this offense is left guard, where the Raiders lost a decent starter in Dylan Parham as a free agent and will either start free agent addition Spencer Burford, 3rd round rookie Trey Zuhn, or 2025 3rd round pick Caleb Rogers. Rogers is probably the best of the bunch, as he showed the potential to be at least a decent starter long-term in 284 snaps (6 starts) last season. Zuhn also has potential, but might not be ready to start in year one. Burford, meanwhile, has started 38 of 56 games played in four seasons in the league, but he has consistently been a liability and, as a result, he has only started 9 of 26 games played in the past two seasons. He would be best as a reserve, but will at least have a chance to start.

Other reserve options other than whoever doesn’t end up starting at left guard are swing tackle Charles Grant, a 2025 3rd round pick who has theoretical upside, but who only played 59 snaps as a rookie, despite the injury to Kolton Miller, and Jordan Meredith, a guard/center who has made 19 starts over the past two seasons, but has mostly struggled, especially in 2025. This is a much improved offensive line from a year ago, even if they aren’t a perfect unit.

Grade: B

Running Backs

One player who should benefit significantly from this offense being better in 2026, particularly with their improvements on the offensive line, is running back Ashton Jeanty. Jeanty was expected to be a difference maker for this offense when the Raiders selected him 6th overall last season, but good running backs are much more valuable to teams that already have at least a decent offense, as there is only so much they can do when they have no room to run. That was the case for Jeanty last season, who averaged just 3.67 YPC and a 41.0% carry success rate on 266 carries last season. 

That was not his fault though, as he averaged 3.06 yards per carry after contact, as opposed to 0.61 yards per carry before contact, and he had an above average 22.9% missed tackle rate. With more room to run and a running back friendly offensive coordinator in Klint Kubiak, expect Jeanty’s production to much more closely resemble what was expected of him as a rookie. Jeanty also figures to remain heavily involved in the passing game, given the state of this receiving corps. As a rookie, he had a 55/346/5 slash line and 0.96 yards per route run on 73 targets and he could be more efficient in year two.

The Raiders clearly still believe in Jeanty, only adding 4th round rookie Mike Washington to back him up and only doing that because they had absolutely nothing behind Jeanty before drafting Washington. Washington has some potential, but I would expect him to be a true backup to Jeanty, only rotating in when Jeanty needs a breather. The Raiders’ depth situation would likely become a concern if Jeanty misses time with injury, but he doesn’t have a significant injury history and, as long as he is healthy, I would expect Jeanty to be an above average running back this season.

Grade: B

Edge Defenders

As I mentioned, the Raiders’ defense had been decent the past couple years, despite this team’s lack of success in the win/loss column. There is some concern they won’t be as good again this year though, due to the loss of defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, who seemed to consistently get the most out of a defense that frankly was not that talented, even if they had decent results. The Raiders did add some free agents on defense this off-season, but none of them are likely to move the needle.

Kwity Paye was signed to a 3-year, 48 million dollar deal to replace Tyree Wilson, who was decent across 463 snaps last season and got sent to the Saints for a late round pick this off-season. Paye was a first round pick in 2021, but hasn’t really lived up to expectations. He is an above average run defender, but has only totaled 30.5 sacks, 21 hits, and a 9.1% pressure rate in 75 career games. Paye is already going into his age 28 season, so he probably is who he is at this stage of his career.

Things could have gotten really bad on this defense if the Maxx Crosby trade went through. That trade would have netted the Raiders two first round picks from the Ravens, including the 14th overall pick in this year’s draft, and it would have been a good move for a team that is taking the long-term approach to building this team, but it would have been a big blow to this defense in the short-term. Unfortunately for the long-term, but fortunately for the short-term, the trade fell apart due to concerns about Maxx Crosby’s surgically repaired knee, which cost him the final two games of last season.

Crosby has become increasingly injury plagued in the last two seasons, missing seven games total after not missing a single one in his first five seasons in the league, and he is now going into his age 29 season. He also hasn’t been quite as good over the past two seasons, so I understand the Ravens’ concerns with adding him via trade at a high price. However, he has totaled 69.5 sacks, 100 hits, and a 12.2% pressure rate in 110 career games, while playing the run at a high level, including 17.5 sacks, 24 hits, and a 11.0% pressure rate in 27 games over the past two seasons. 

Even at less than his best, he is still one of the best players in the league at his position. He also almost never comes off the field, averaging 58.6 snaps per game in his career. Last season, despite missing two games, he still ranked 4th among edge defenders in snaps played. There is some concern he will miss time again this season, but he is expected to be ready for training camp and more than ready for the start of the season, barring any unexpected setbacks. 

Malcolm Koonce, 501 snaps in 2025, was retained as a free agent on a 1-year, 11.01 million dollar deal this off-season and Keyron Crawford was added in the third round of the draft to give them some added depth and potentially a long-term replacement for Crosby in the somewhat likely scenario that try to again explore a trade for him sometime in the next year. Koonce was not the same in 2025 as he was in seemingly a breakout season in 2023, with a lost season due to injury in 2024 in between. 

Koonce went from 8 sacks, 10 hits, and a 15.1% pressure rate in 2023 to 4.5 sacks, 8 hits, and a 10.6% pressure rate in 2025. The 5-year veteran remains a one-year wonder and it is very possible he never is as good as he was in 2023 again, but he also is still only going into his age 28 season and could be better in 2026 than he was in 2025, another year removed from his injury. Arguably the strength of this defense, this is a solid position group that is elevated by the presence of Maxx Crosby, who seems likely to remain a Raider at least for the start of the 2026 season, after a failed off-season trade attempt.

Grade: B+

Interior Defenders

While the Raiders’ edge defenders were the strength of this defense and will remain the strength in 2026, their interior defenders were the weakness and will remain the weakness in 2026. Jonah Laulu (764 snaps), Adam Butler (684 snaps), and Thomas Booker (603 snaps) figure to remain their top-3 at the position like they were a year ago and all three figure to struggle again. Laulu, a 7th round pick in 2024, also struggled across 475 snaps as a rookie and, given where he was drafted, it is very possible he never develops into even a decent rotational player. Thomas Booker also doesn’t have any history of success, as the 2022 5th round pick played just 373 snaps in three seasons in the league prior to last season.

Adam Butler has at least been a decent pass rusher in his career, totaling 28 sacks, 28 hits, and a 6.6% pressure rate in 129 career games, but he has consistently struggled as a run defender, his pressure rate fell to 5.3% in 2025, and he’s now heading into his age 32 season, so he could decline further as a run defender and/or a pass rusher. The Raiders did add Benito Jones to the mix in free agency, but he has struggled across an average of 277 snaps per season in six seasons in the league (261 snaps in 2025) and won’t be any help to a position group that needs it. This looks likely to be one of the best interior defender groups in the league this season.

Grade: C

Linebackers

The Raiders gave big contracts to free agent linebackers Nakobe Dean (36.03 million over 3 years) and Quay Walker (40.5 million over 3 years) this off-season, but they are marginal starters at best and aren’t likely to be upgrades over Devin White (1,118 snaps), Elandon Roberts (654 snaps), and Jamal Adams (448 snaps), their top-3 linebackers from a year ago, who all were all decent and were not retained. Walker was a first round pick in 2022, but has not lived up to expectations, starting 57 of 58 games played, but maxing out as a marginal starter linebacker while having multiple below average seasons, including one in 2025 across 900 snaps.

Dean was a decent every down linebacker in 2024 (857 snaps), but he tore his patellar tendon at the end of the season and was not quite the same upon his return (403 snaps in 10 games) in 2025. He is still only in his age 26 season and could be better in 2026, another year removed from the injury, but that was his only season as a capable every down player in four seasons in the league and he hasn’t played in all 17 games since his rookie season, missing 21 games total in the past three seasons. Depth is also a concern, with the third linebacker job linebacker to go to either 2024 5th round pick Tommy Eichenberg, who has played 167 snaps in two seasons in the league, or 2025 7th round pick Cody Lindenberg, who didn’t play a snap as a rookie. This is an underwhelming linebacking corps.

Grade: C+

Secondary

Along with keeping Maxx Crosby, the Raiders also kept probably their second best defensive player from 2025, cornerback Eric Stokes, who was retained as a free agent on a 3-year, 30 million dollar deal. A first round pick in 2021, Stokes has always flashed talent, but injuries limited him to 587 snaps total in 2022 and 2023 combined and, upon his return in 2024, he had lost his starting job and played just 587 snaps, despite being healthy enough to play all 17 games. 

Stokes played pretty well in 2024 though and, after signing a one-year prove it deal with the Raiders last off-season, he took things to another level in 2025, starting all 16 games he played and leading the league in coverage snaps per completion, allowing just 28 completions for 261 yards all season. Still only going into his age 27 season, Stokes’ injury history is a concern and he is a one-year wonder in terms of playing at the level he played at last season, so there is a possibility he misses time or regresses, but he was still a great value on a contract that priced in his history. The starter next to Stokes will likely be Darien Porter, a 2025 3rd round pick who flashed potential across 607 snaps as a rookie and earned more playing time as the season went on (315 snaps in his final five games). 

The third cornerback will likely be Taron Johnson, an experienced slot cornerback who they acquired via trade for the Bills, but Johnson has missed seven games with injury over the past two seasons, has been more of a liability when on the field than he used to be in those two seasons, and now is heading into his age 30 season, which is why the Bills let him go in what amounted to a salary dump. If he struggles to start the season, he could be benched for one of two rookies, 2nd round pick Treydan Stukes or 4th round pick Jermod McCoy, the latter of whom could have been a 1st round pick if he didn’t miss all of last season with a torn ACL that he might not be fully recovered from. 

Stukes could also be a candidate to start at safety, where he would unseat 2022 undrafted free agent Isaiah Pola-Mao, who has started 31 games over the past two seasons, but has been decent at best. Whoever wins that starting job would start next to Jeremy Chinn, a consistently above average starter whose only concern is durability, with 15 games missed in six seasons in the league and at least one game missed in five of those six seasons. This secondary isn’t much different than a year ago, but that is not a bad thing, as this is a solid unit overall.

Grade: B+

Kickers

The Raiders moved on from long-time kicker Daniel Carlson this off-season, after seven seasons with the team. Carlson was slightly below average last season, costing the Raiders 2.27 points compared to an average kicker, but likely replacement Matt Gay was even worse, finishing with 4.57 points below an average kicker. Gay is a slightly above average kicker for his career, adding 9.60 points compared to an average kicker in 108 career games, but he has finished below average in three straight seasons, costing his teams 8.92 points over that stretch, with the Colts, Commanders, and 49ers. Now going into his age 32 season, it seems likely he would remain at least a slight liability in 2026, but the Raiders’ only other option is undrafted rookie Kansei Matsuzawa, so Gay is likely the favorite for the job.

Grade: C+

Conclusion

The Raiders should be better on offense this season, with a new head coach and play caller in Klint Kubiak, a new quarterback room with Kirk Cousins and Fernando Mendoza, a big-time free agent acquisition in Tyler Lindenbaum, and expected better health from Brock Bowers and Kolton Miller, arguably their two best players from a year ago. However, Cousins is expected to start at quarterback to begin the year as they bring the rookie Mendoza along slowly, which is probably for the best long-term, but probably doesn’t help their chances of winning games in the short-term, while their defense is expected to be worse in 2026 than 2025, primarily due to the loss of defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, who was always got the most out of an overall underwhelming defense in his four seasons with the team. In a tough division, this team seems destined for another last place finish, but they at least seem to be heading in the right direction.

Prediction: 5-12, 4th in AFC West