The Las Vegas Raiders have gotten off to a hot start this offseason. They brought in Klint Kubiak, one of the top offensive minds in the league, to be their head coach, and they just spent a boatload of money to help improve their roster in free agency. Now, with 11 draft picks, they can continue to fill in holes and hopefully field a competitive team for 2026.

Heading into the draft, the Raiders still have some big holes to fill, mainly at quarterback, offensive line, wide receiver and defensive tackle. Luckily, with an abundance of picks, they should be able to fill at least a few of those holes before the start of next season.

Today, we’re starting a series where we do a full seven-round mock draft for every team before the 2026 NFL Draft begins on April 23rd, so let’s kick things off with the team who holds the No. 1 overall pick.

Round 1, Pick 1: QB Fernando Mendoza

The clear and obvious pick at No. 1 is Fernando Mendoza. He is the best quarterback in this draft class, and the Raiders very clearly have a need at QB after they traded Geno Smith to the New York Jets. Part of the reason Klint Kubiak wanted this job was for the opportunity to coach Mendoza, so it would be a complete shock if they went elsewhere with this pick.

In my eyes, Mendoza’s ceiling is a more mobile Jared Goff, which would make him a top-10 quarterback in the league. I don’t know if he’ll reach that ceiling, but the Raiders are doing a good job of surrounding him with talent, and if they can fill out the wide receiver and offensive line room later in the draft, he could have a lot of success right away.

Round 2, Pick 36: WR Chris Bell

The only reason Chris Bell isn’t a consensus first-round pick is because of his knee. He tore his ACL in November and could fall behind in preseason training, but he is an incredible talent. At 6-foot-2, 220 pounds, he runs an estimated 4.4 to 4.5-second 40-yard dash and averaged 14+ yards per catch during his career. Before his injury, Bell caught 72 passes for 912 yards and six scores last year at Louisville.

Even with his knee injury, some are saying he could go at the end of the first round or early in the second. He may not make it to pick 36, but it’s probably 50/50. If he’s there, I think it would be very wise for the Raiders to go get him. He can be Mendoza’s best friend for a long, long time.

Round 3, Pick 67: OG Keylan Rutledge

The Raiders went heavy on defense in free agency, so I’m going heavy offense in the draft. Despite adding Tyler Linderbaum, the interior of their offensive line needs some help, and in round three, you’re not going to find many better guards than Keylan Rutledge.

Rutledge is an incredible pass blocker, giving up zero sacks over the last two seasons, but he’s also really good in the run game, where he earned a career-high 77.7 run blocking grade from PFF in 2025. He’s exactly the type of player Mendoza and Ashton Jeanty could use on the offensive line.

Round 4, Pick 102: DT Landon Robinson

In round four, I finally take a defensive player in the form of Landon Robinson. The Navy DT drew all 32 NFL teams to Navy’s pro day after he didn’t receive an NFL Combine invite, and all reports point towards him having a pretty good showing. In 2025, Robinson recorded 34 pressures, 6.5 sacks and 32 run stops from the interior of the defensive line despite being a bit undersized at 6-foot, 287 pounds.

The Raiders really need help at defensive tackle, but I don’t really love any of the top guys in this class. I think they’re better off focusing on offense early and trying to land someone like Robinson in round four.

Round 4, Pick 117: OT Markel Bell

Francis Mauigoa is the Miami tackle getting all of the hype, but I also really like Markel Bell, especially if you can get him in the fourth round. He was a bit shaky in 2024 as a starter, but he didn’t give up a single sack and allowed just nine pressures all year in 2025. There’s still some work to do in the run game, but you can always coach him up. Plus, he’s 6-foot-9, 345 pounds. He can be an anchor in the pass game.

Round 4, Pick 134: WR Tyren Montgomery

Tyren Montgomery isn’t getting a lot of attention because he played at John Carroll, a Division II school, but after a stellar Senior Bowl performance, he’s put his name on every NFL team’s radar. At John Carroll, Montgomery accumulated 119 receptions for 1,528 yards and 15 touchdowns in 14 games. I don’t care who you’re playing, that’s insane production. He’s a bit small at 5-foot-11, 190 pounds, but you can’t deny his talent.

The Raiders don’t have a very deep receiver room, so I don’t mind spending two top-150 picks on wideouts. Mendoza is going to need all the help he can get, so betting on a high upside player like Montgomery here makes a ton of sense.

Round 5, Pick 175: S VJ Payne

VJ Payne has great size for a safety at 6-foot-3, 208 pounds. Usually, there would be some concerns about how his size effects his athleticism, but after he ran a 4.4-second 40-yard dash with a 35-inch vertical and a 10-foot, 7-inch broad jump, those concerns, if there ever were any, were put to rest.

On top of his size and athletic traits, Payne is coming off his best season in college, where he allowed a sub-50 percent completion rate and broke up three passes with one interceptions to just one touchdown. The Raiders need some depth in the backend of their defense, so Payne can definitely provide some quality depth at safety.

Round 6, Pick 185: CB Thaddeus Dixon

Speaking of quality depth in the secondary, Thaddeus Dixon is another guy who could give them some help on the backend. He’s got great size and length, measuring in at 6-foot-1, but he’s also explosive with a 39.5-inch vertical. He did suffer an upper body injury, which caused him to miss some time last year, but he’s back now and ready to hear his name called on draft night.

Taron Johnson and Eric Stokes will be the Raiders’ main cornerbacks, but Dixon could provide them with some much-needed depth. And who knows, maybe one day he can be a starter.

Round 6, Pick 208: RB Eli Heidenreich

Eli Heidenreich was nearly a 1,000-yard receiver last year, but it appears he’ll be making the transition to running back at the NFL level. He worked out with the RBs at the combine and tested well with a 4.44-second 40-yard dash and putting up 16 reps on the bench press. He’s obviously a very good receiver, so pairing him with Ashton Jeanty would make a lot of sense. Let Jeanty focus on carrying the ball, while Heidenreich can come out and catch passes. I think he’s worth the gamble in the sixth round.

Round 7, Pick 219: WR Zavion Thomas

The seventh round is when teams like to gamble on upside, so why not take a receiver who ran a 4.28-second 40-yard dash at the combine and had a really good pro day? Zavion Thomas is a gadget guy, but he showed he’s also a really good route runner at his pro day this past week. He’s got speed and experience, and like I said before, get Mendoza as many weapons as you can, especially at receiver, because this roster needs a lot of help out wide.