Raiders’ 2026 NFL Mock Draft roundup post-Super Bowl as draft season ramps up
After the Super Bowl, the attention in Las Vegas has already shifted to the 2026 NFL Draft. This is a franchise searching for identity stability and long-term direction. As such, this draft cycle represents roster improvement and reset. Armed with the No. 1 overall pick and a new leadership structure, the Raiders sit at the epicenter of draft-season intrigue. Mock boards, league insiders, and analytics models are aligning around one overwhelming expectation. Las Vegas is poised to make the defining selection of the offseason. Yes, the headline decision appears increasingly clear. The Raiders’ broader class construction, though, will ultimately determine whether this rebuild accelerates or stalls before it even begins.
Setbacks and inconsistency
The Raiders’ 2025 campaign was marked by injuries, offensive inconsistency, and defensive regression. It culminated in a league-worst finish that secured the No. 1 overall pick. Early optimism surrounding the Geno Smith-led offense quickly faded. The ground game struggled to generate explosive plays. Defensively, the Raiders showed flashes behind elite individual efforts but lacked week-to-week cohesion. By midseason, the campaign had shifted from playoff aspirations to evaluation mode. This prompted organizational changes that eventually ushered in the new Klint Kubiak era. At least their last-place finish positioned the franchise for a potential quarterback-driven reset.
Quarterback and trenches
Looking ahead to the 2026 NFL Draft, the Raiders’ roster blueprint begins with securing a franchise quarterback. Smith stabilized the room temporarily. Still, long-term sustainability requires a foundational signal-caller capable of elevating the offense. Beyond quarterback, the offensive line remains a pressing concern. Defensively, the secondary demands reinforcements to combat the AFC West’s elite quarterback gauntlet. The pass rush also requires complementary depth to sustain pressure across four quarters. In short, Las Vegas enters draft season needing impact talent at premium positions, with quarterback, cornerback, and edge rusher chief among them.
Here are some of the potential picks that numerous analysts have named in recent mock drafts.
QB Fernando Mendoza, Indiana
Tim Crean, ClutchPoints; Brent Sobleski, BleacherReport; Daniel Jeremiah, NFL.com; Garrett Podell, CBS Sports
There is rare national alignment atop mock draft boards as Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza has become the overwhelming favorite to land in Las Vegas at No. 1 overall. The National Champion and Heisman Trophy winner is widely viewed as the “no-brainer” selection to reset the franchise’s trajectory.
Mendoza’s profile fits seamlessly. His ultra-accurate passing style, combined with elite red-zone decision-making projects immediate offensive stabilization. He may not possess generational rushing upside. However, his toughness, poise, and command presence resonate strongly with evaluators.
Draft analysts have gone as far as to say the pick feels “penciled in with permanent marker.” For a locker room seeking emotional tone-setting leadership, Mendoza represents both production and culture recalibration.
As certain as Mendoza seems to be as the Raiders’ top pick, though, there is hardly any consensus for their picks on Day Two.
CB Julian Neal, Arkansas
If quarterback becomes the foundational Round 1 pillar, Round 2 projections heavily skew toward secondary upgrades. The most notable could be Arkansas cornerback Julian Neal.
Neal’s draft stock currently resides in the early Day 2 range. At 6-foot-2, he offers the length, physicality, and press-man profile necessary to survive against the AFC West’s elite receiver landscape.
Mock draft analysis suggests Las Vegas cannot afford to ignore the cornerback room any longer. Neal’s ability to disrupt catch windows and contest vertical routes would immediately elevate the Raiders’ secondary.
EDGE Akheem Mesidor, Miami
Miami edge defender Akheem Mesidor represents one of the class’s most polarizing Day 2 projections. On one end of the evaluation spectrum, he profiles as a game-wrecking disruptor.
Mesidor posted sack production that rivaled some of the draft’s top projected edge selections. He showcased violent hands and interior-to-edge versatility. However, evaluators also note he will enter the league at 25 years old. That raises questions about developmental runway and long-term upside.
For the Raiders, the calculus may lean toward aggression. Mesidor embodies the type of boom-or-bust swing franchises often take when attempting to accelerate defensive front reconstruction.
CB Keith Abney II, Arizona State
Further down mock projections, Arizona State cornerback Keith Abney II has emerged as a possibility. That’s particularly true if the franchise double-dips in secondary reinforcements.
Abney’s scouting profile highlights elite man-coverage stickiness and positional versatility. Though slightly smaller than Neal, his ability to function both in the slot and along the boundary enhances schematic flexibility.
For Las Vegas, Abney represents a high-value developmental contributor capable of growing into sub-package prominence early in his career.
LB Josiah Trotter, Missouri
Missouri linebacker Josiah Trotter rounds out several Raiders mock classes as a tone-setting defensive addition. The son of former Pro Bowl linebacker Jeremiah Trotter mirrors his father’s physical, downhill play style.
He thrives as a run-stopping enforcer where gap discipline and tackling power are paramount. Yes, modern coverage demands limit his three-down projection. That said, there remains significant value in situational linebackers who can control interior rushing lanes.
For Las Vegas, adding Trotter would inject physicality into a front seven seeking cultural edge as much as schematic depth.
Franchise reset
As draft season accelerates, the Raiders’ trajectory feels tethered to the success of this incoming class. Selecting Fernando Mendoza would address the franchise’s most glaring long-term void while providing offensive identity clarity under Klint Kubiak.
Yet the sustainability of that reset will depend on the supporting architecture. The Raiders must protect the quarterback, reinforc the secondary, and deepen the pass rush.
Las Vegas holds the most powerful card in the draft deck. Whether they simply meet expectations or exceed them will determine if this offseason becomes remembered as the birth of a contender or merely the beginning of another rebuild cycle.
The post Raiders’ 2026 NFL Mock Draft roundup post-Super Bowl as draft season ramps up appeared first on ClutchPoints.
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