Raiders 2026 NFL draft winners and losers: Jack Bech has big opportunity despite wide receiver smoke

John Spytek talked about needing to add safeties to the defensive backfield during the draft, so it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that Pola-Mao may lose his starting spot this season. That was solidified when Spytek opted to trade back two spots and pass on defensive tackle Kayden McDonald in the second round, taking former Arizona safety Treydan Stukes instead.

Stukes is a versatile player who could contribute at nickelback, too, but after adding Taron Johnson earlier in the offseason, it’s looking like IPM could be the odd man out. It doesn’t help matters that the Raiders also traded back into the fifth round to take a second former Arizona safety in Dalton Johnson.

WINNER: The Bergs

Tommy Eichenberg

While the Raiders signed Quay Walker and Nakobe Dean to be their starting linebackers, both have battled injuries throughout their careers to the point where it would have made sense for Spytek to invest a draft pick in a third linebacker. However, that didn’t happen, which leaves Tommy Eichenberg and Cody Lindenberg to battle it out for that role instead of falling further on the depth chart.

LOSER: Darien Porter

To be clear, Porter should walk into training camp as a starting cornerback. However, he’s going to have to fight to keep that job, especially if Jermod McCoy is ready to go. McCoy is a first-round talent who has the highest ceiling of anyone in Las Vegas’ cornerback room. But of course, there’s the concern about his knee. Also, it doesn’t help matters that the front office added another corner in Hezekiah Masses. So, the 2025 third-round went from being a sure-fire starter to having to fend off a couple of competitors for his spot.

WINNER: JJ Pegues

It was pretty surprising that the Raiders didn’t add a nose tackle until their last pick of the draft—seventh-rounder, Brandon Cleveland—since that was widely considered one of the team’s biggest needs. On top of that, Cleveland is on the smaller side for a nose tackle, weighing in at the NFL Combine at 307 pounds. That’s good news for Pegues, who should enter training camp as the top nose tackle on the roster. The second-year pro will still have to earn the job over Brodric Martin and Cleveland, but he doesn’t face nearly as stiff competition as he would have had to if the Raiders prioritized the position more in the draft.

LOSER: Decamrion Richardson

Along similar lines to Porter, Richardson couldn’t have been happy with seeing two cornerbacks get drafted. The biggest difference for the 2024 fourth-round pick is that he’ll be fighting just to stay on the roster. Granted, he probably would have been anyway after only getting 13 defensive snaps last season, but Richardson’s seat certainly got warmer with the team adding two draft picks at his position.

WINNER: Running Game

Las Vegas’ running backs totaled 1,120 rushing yards last season, and Ashton Jeanty accounted for 975 or 87.1 percent of the total. Of course, the offensive line played a big factor in that, but the offense desperately needed to get another back in the mix. The front office delivered by getting a homerun-hitter in Mike Washington Jr., who has 4.33 speed and was widely considered the RB3 with a second- to third-round draft range.

So, getting him in the fourth not only gives Jeanty a suitable running mate in Klink Kubiak’s two-back rushing attack, but it’s also an excellent value pickup.

LOSER: Jordan Meredith

This has been a pretty rough offseason for Meredith. He ended the 2025 campaign on injured reserve, got hit with the restricted free-agent tender right before free agency, only to watch the front office sign a center and a guard during free agency, and then draft another interior offensive lineman in the third round. In the span of a year, the 28-year-old has gone from a rising potential long-term starter to someone who will be fighting for a roster spot over the summer.

LOSER: 2023 Draft Class

With Tyree Wilson getting traded to the New Orleans Saints, only three players (Michael Mayer, Tre Tucker and Aidan O’Connell) out of nine picks from the 2023 draft class remain on the roster. That means only a third of the class even has a chance to play out their rookie contracts in Las Vegas.

To make matters worse, Wilson went from being a Top 10 pick to getting dealt for a fifth-rounder, and it’s not as if O’Connell is going to have a significant role on the team behind Fernando Mendoza and Kirk Cousins. So, instead of having a handful of fourth-year pros who are looking to prove themselves and earn a second contract this season, the Raiders are only going to get contributions from two out of nine players from that draft class.