The Way Too Early Grade The Draft Thread

[Attyla]

D+ we did not get our number one WR LOL

Actually, I like this draft, Spytek moved around a lot and got us some nice pieces. We did not get everything but it feels like Raiderland Christmas.


So let's see those overreaction grades. I know, I know, you cannot grade a draft for 3 years. Boo f[raiders_icon]cking Hoo. Lighten up Francis and grade this glorious weekend.

Mendoza by himself does not get us an A but the rest of the group certainly has to impress when put together. McCoy if he heals up makes the robber barons of the draft.

And there will be UDFAs and post draft pickups and drops. Tyree is going, well eventually, I mean the door s 40 yards away so it will take some time.

Grade A- but if McCoy pans out the grade could change.

[Sold My Soul]

Las Vegas Raiders: A-

Picks: 10 | WAA added: 2.604 (Rank 1/32)

Pick 1: QB Fernando Mendoza, Indiana Hoosiers
Pick 38: CB Treydan Stukes, Arizona Wildcats
Pick 67: ED Keyron Crawford, Auburn Tigers
Pick 91: T Trey Zuhn III, Texas A&M Aggies
Pick 101: CB Jermod McCoy, Tennessee Volunteers
Pick 122: HB Mike Washington Jr., Arkansas Razorbacks
Pick 150: S Dalton Johnson, Arizona Wildcats
Pick 175: CB Hezekiah Masses, California Golden Bears
Pick 195: WR Malik Benson, Oregon Ducks
Pick 229: DI Brandon Cleveland, North Carolina State Wolfpack
Highest-graded pick (2025): QB Fernando Mendoza, Indiana Hoosiers (91.6)

Mendoza: There was little suspense about who Las Vegas would select with the first overall pick. Mendoza is coming off an elite 2025 season for the Hoosiers, where he led all FBS quarterbacks in PFF Wins Above Average (WAA). The 22-year-old quarterback and new head coach Klint Kubiak, fresh off a Super Bowl title, will look to build a new offensive foundation after the Raiders ranked 31st in expected points added (EPA) per play last season.

Stukes: Stukes worked his way from walk-on to starter and projects best as a hybrid slot defender. While he lacks top-tier athleticism for outside roles, his instincts and playmaking ability stand out.

Crawford: Crawford earned a 76.3 PFF overall grade in 2025, ranking 166th among edge defenders, with his impact driven by his pass rush, where he ranked 48th in PFF pass-rush grade (85.8) and generated 43 pressures, including five sacks, 12 quarterback hits and 26 hurries. His 73.9 PFF run-defense grade ranked 237th, and he added 23 solo tackles and one forced fumble across the season.

Zuhn: Zuhn stands out as one of the cleaner pass protectors in college football, though his run blocking lags behind, and his shorter arms project a move inside to guard despite extensive SEC experience. He measured 6-foot-7 and 312 pounds and paired that size with strong testing, including a 5.00 40-yard dash (89th percentile), 2.83 20-yard split (96th percentile) and 1.70 10-yard split (94th percentile), along with 33 bench reps, a 32-inch vertical (90th percentile) and a 9-foot-3 broad jump (86th percentile). He earned an elite 96.8 pass-blocking grade in 2025 and allowed two sacks, one hit and seven hurries across 435 pass-blocking snaps.

McCoy: McCoy's medical evaluations will be critical, but based on his measurables and 2024 tape, he profiles as a first-round talent with shutdown potential in press-man coverage.

Washington: Washington brings alluring size, straight-line speed and yards-after-contact potential as a power back, but also noticeably good vision and footwork to be a potential early-down back in a committee in a man- or gap-scheme run game.

Johnson: Johnson delivered his best performance in his final college season, earning an 84.8 PFF grade in 2025 across 771 snaps, with a 71.8 run-defense grade, 74.9 pass-rush grade and 88.6 coverage grade. In coverage, he allowed 25 receptions for 206 yards and one touchdown on 45 targets, while recording four interceptions and five pass breakups, with a 37.8 passer rating allowed. He added 15 defensive stops against the run, including two tackles for loss or no gain on 373 run-defense snaps. His usage showed versatility, with 271 snaps in the box, 247 at free safety, 233 in the slot and three at cornerback. He measured 5-foot-11 and 192 pounds at his pro day and ran a 4.41 40-yard dash — good speed for the position.

Masses: Masses projects best as a zone-oriented cornerback, where he can attack the ball before it reaches the receiver, as evidenced by his 24% forced incompletion rate in those looks last season. However, sub-66.0 PFF run-defense grades in both 2024 and 2025 highlight limitations against the run, and adding weight while improving physicality will be key to establishing a starting role.

Benson: Benson has a lighter frame at 6 feet and 189 pounds, but his quickness projects well to the slot. He showed his best production at Oregon in 2025, where he earned a 75.6 PFF receiving grade and posted a 2.3% drop rate. His downfield ability stands out as a key strength, as he earned a 97.0-plus receiving grade on targets 10 or more yards downfield.

Cleveland: Cleveland is a technically sound nose tackle who understands leverage and angles, particularly against double teams. He lacks elite strength and explosiveness but profiles as a dependable depth player who can handle interior dirty work.


-PFF

[Opoponax50]

I don't count Mendoza as part of this draft's grading. He was the consensus #1 and almost no amount of insanity would've prevented us nor anyone else on all but a few teams from drafting him.

Thus, I give the draft a B-. This is largely because of McCoy. IMO, you don't draft someone with a severe injury that's foreseeably going to need further operations before he sees the field again--if he ever sees it again. And if he ever does, it's likely he won't be ready to go until 2027 and by then, he won't have played a down of football in a real game in two years.

There's a difference between a project and a player who carries the very real possibility to never play again. People can try and justify it by saying it's just a fourth round pick, but good depth players can still be found in that round. D-line, LB, an uninjured CB, etc. would have all been better choices IMO.

[Sold My Soul]

I have always hated taking a flier on injured players. There is a reason guys fall in the draft and just because it is labeled a steal in the later rounds..it at that point still undetermined if it's a steal of money by the player drafted.... or the team who drafted the player.

[Goodtimes333]

LOOKS STRONG AS F...how in the hell did pete and son think converting him from dline to oline would work ???

Same way they f[raiders_icon]cked up the whole oline and team in general. Truly an egotistical & clueless staff. Lies of competition when in reality it was picking favorites for roles in the clown show

[Goodtimes333]

I have always hated taking a flier on injured players. There is a reason guys fall in the draft and just because it is labeled a steal in the later rounds..it at that point still undetermined if it's a steal of money by the player drafted.... or the team who drafted the player.

The Raiders needed a corner. They got a top talent with a day 3 pick dude. They were a bad team and tied with 3 other teams for being the worst in the league. They weren't as bad as the record suggests, they have some talent. It was the right storm coming together to achieve the #1 pick. Regardless, they needed legit talent. You may as well swing for the home run in the 4th round. Day 3 is when you make those types of moves. I don't understand how you can't see that as a worthwhile move. Most 4th rounders aren't gonna amount to much. Getting a Top 10-20 talent in the 4th is a yes all day every day. If the Raiders don't take him there I guarantee he gets picked within the next 6-7 spots

[16 to 88]

OR McCoy could play this year. He worked out at his Pro Day and I believe ran the 40 in the 4.4s. The ACL tear is healed and is not an issue. The bone plug is something else entirely that may not need anything done. McCoy has said it is up to The Raiders for what to do with it.

Whoa! I didn't realize this. So I looked up his pro day results and they were excellent.

Height 6006
Weight 192
10 split 1.52
Forty 4.40
Broad jump 10'7"
Vertical 38"
Hand 9 1/4
Arm 31"
Wingspan 77"

[rcraider]

Whoa! I didn't realize this. So I looked up his pro day results and they were excellent.

Height 6006
Weight 192
10 split 1.52
Forty 4.40
Broad jump 10'7"
Vertical 38"
Hand 9 1/4
Arm 31"
Wingspan 77"

UT released a video of his 40-yard dash that said it was a "sub 4.4," and then it clarified the official time was 4.37 seconds

[GoodTimeCharlie]

McCoy could play today. What we don’t fully know is whether the bone plug operation is a definite yes soon, or a definite yes later.

From what I understand it’s a roll of the dice regardless of which way the Raiders and McCoy choose to approach it. He’ll need it, but he can wait and it may cause him to have about a 4 year career, he can get it now and if it doesn’t take it could completely eliminate any career, or he can get it now and everything goes perfectly and he has a career that lasts 7+ years.

[Attyla]

McCoy could play today. What we don’t fully know is whether the bone plug operation is a definite yes soon, or a definite yes later.

From what I understand it’s a roll of the dice regardless of which way the Raiders and McCoy choose to approach it. He’ll need it, but he can wait and it may cause him to have about a 4 year career, he can get it now and if it doesn’t take it could completely eliminate any career, or he can get it now and everything goes perfectly and he has a career that lasts 7+ years.

The ACL was not a big deal, these days that is basic surgery and recovery time. The bone plug? It can be tricky with regards to recovery time and frankly there are times when it does not work. It is certainly a roll of the dice. But he ran well at his pro day. So that is a plus. From what I was able to uncover, there is a chance he plays this season but the Raiders may opt to wait another season to give him a full recovery time. Guess we will see.

[NewEraX25]

I don't count Mendoza as part of this draft's grading. He was the consensus #1 and almost no amount of insanity would've prevented us nor anyone else on all but a few teams from drafting him.

Thus, I give the draft a B-. This is largely because of McCoy. IMO, you don't draft someone with a severe injury that's foreseeably going to need further operations before he sees the field again--if he ever sees it again. And if he ever does, it's likely he won't be ready to go until 2027 and by then, he won't have played a down of football in a real game in two years.

There's a difference between a project and a player who carries the very real possibility to never play again. People can try and justify it by saying it's just a fourth round pick, but good depth players can still be found in that round. D-line, LB, an uninjured CB, etc. would have all been better choices IMO.

You 1000% take a flyer on a previously injured consensus #1 CB in the 4th round, especially when you have more than one pick in the 4th. We are a team that has wasted more 1st and 2nd round picks than damn near any other org, and now we are crying about taking a slight risk on day 3? Jesus. I trust this leadership team, and I trust our medical staff. I am even good with him sitting a year if he needs to to clean anything up. If he ends up healthy, this would be one of the biggest steals in the history of the draft.

[Attyla]

You 1000% take a flyer on a previously injured consensus #1 CB in the 4th round, especially when you have more than one pick in the 4th. We are a team that has wasted more 1st and 2nd round picks than damn near any other org, and now we are crying about taking a slight risk on day 3? Jesus. I trust this leadership team, and I trust our medical staff. I am even good with him sitting a year if he needs to to clean anything up. If he ends up healthy, this would be one of the biggest steals in the history of the draft.

Leadership team needs to prove they are ready for the big time. Now the medical staff? We have one of the better staffs in that regard. Doofus gets a pass on that one, he spent the money well with regards to our medical team.

[RunOverByHubbard]

Ryan Wilson of CBS gave four teams an A+ for the draft and the Raiders were one of them. Here’s what he said and in the below link you can see where he placed our draft choices on his big board. He used his big board to develop the grades as if you pick someone in the third round who he had as top 20 player your grade is higher.

Wilson's notes:
Favorite pick: Treydan Stukes had first-round buzz heading into the draft and every team I spoke with talked up what a great human being he is. He's almost as good a football player, which is amazing given that he's a former walk-on at Arizona.

Best value: Jermod McCoy, all day long. You wish the best for him and his recovery from a knee injury he suffered in January 2025. Put another way: if I told Raiders fans 2 weeks ago that they would land Stukes and McCoy they'd be beside themselves. And here we are.

Most surprising pick: On the surface, the Raiders did everything right -- there were no reaches, no players that don't fit what they're trying to do. The biggest surprise is how many good players they got from start to finish.

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/new ... aft-class/

[Opoponax50]

You 1000% take a flyer on a previously injured consensus #1 CB in the 4th round, especially when you have more than one pick in the 4th. We are a team that has wasted more 1st and 2nd round picks than damn near any other org, and now we are crying about taking a slight risk on day 3? Jesus. I trust this leadership team, and I trust our medical staff. I am even good with him sitting a year if he needs to to clean anything up. If he ends up healthy, this would be one of the biggest steals in the history of the draft.

A fourth round pick is where you can find good depth and possibly a starter. It's not a throw away pick. The same goes for 5th rounders. It's the 6th and 7th where you can take a flyer on a guy with great measurables but not a lot else. Special teams players are also taken there.

IOW, there are foreseeably impactful players that can be taken in the 4th. McCoy may not see the field until 2027, which means zero possibility of an impact this year and for all practical purposes, 2027 would be his rookie year after not playing for two years.

I hope for the best for us and for him, but just because we drafted him doesn't mean the pick is above criticism.

[Attyla]

The problem with your statement is that you said he had great measurables but not a lot else. That is patently false. We have significant game day tape on the guy and he was projected as a first rounder, and a high first rounder by some. And he ran at his pro day so we know the ACL has healed up. The only question is the bone plug and his medical records would have been accessible so they know more and due to HIPAA are just not sharing more about how that process is going.

And if he cannot go until 2027, so what of it. 2026 is not a year where we are making a run, we are a young rebuilding team.

[DeathStar24]

Haven't back read but I'm stocked about Stukes. I think Trey Zuhn could be sneaky good. No need to talk about Mendoza.