Raiders mock draft roundup: Every expert pick, and where they disagree

The Las Vegas Raiders will draft No. 1 overall in this year's NFL Draft. You can probably guess what every expert (and non-expert) expects the team to do there. Hint: it rhymes with Bindiana Borterback Bernando Bendoza.

But even when mocks agree on one specific pick, they tend to not agree on anything else. The deeper we are in the draft, the more the expert picks tend to pull apart. We pulled mock drafts from ESPN, The Athletic, CBS and FanSided’s own Cody Williams to see what the experts think about what the Raiders will do in the 2026 NFL Draft. Let's talk about what those predictions are.

Round 1, Pick 1

• ESPN: QB Fernando Mendoza, Indiana
• CBS: QB Fernando Mendoza, Indiana
• FanSided: QB Fernando Mendoza, Indiana
• The Athletic: QB Fernando Mendoza, Indiana

"Mendoza elected not to throw at the Combine, but will throw at his pro day with Indiana in a few weeks. While we always love to see what the top draft prospects can do at the Combine, Mendoza had little to gain from doing so. He's the consensus top quarterback in the draft, the Raiders are going to select him first overall — amazing how any trade buzz that did exist seemed to die in Indianapolis — and Vegas will have a terrific young QB leading the charge." - FanSided

Folks, we have a consensus. The Raiders have the No. 1 overall pick in this year's NFL Draft and need a quarterback, and there's only one potentially elite QB in this class. It's pretty obvious what that means: Fernando Mendoza isn't a guarantee to be the franchise quarterback for Vegas, but the team has to at least try to make it work, and they've already started laying the groundwork by moving on from Geno Smith and signing a veteran in Kirk Cousins who can help Mendoza's transition to the league.

Round 2, Pick 36

• ESPN: WR Denzel Boston, Washington
• CBS: OT Blake Miller, Clemson
• FanSided: EDGE Cashius Howell, Texas A&M

"Boston slips through the cracks in this mock draft due to team needs, but he would be a true WR1 in Las Vegas and a perfect pairing with Mendoza. The 6-foot-4, 212-pound Boston caught 11 touchdown passes in 2025 and can win the 50-50 balls that Mendoza excelled with at Indiana." - ESPN

Three really good options here. If Denzel Boston falls to the second round, he'd be hugely appealing, as the Raiders don't have a potential No. 1 receiver on the roster at the moment. Boston has the size and ball skills to become a go-to guy on the outside, and with Tre Tucker in the slot and Jalen Nailor as the speed threat, you'd have a solid receiving room.

Or there's Blake Miller, who could immediately be plugged in as the team's right tackle of the future, which would help keep Mendoza upright. That's a solid move as well.

A&M edge rusher Cashius Howell would be an intriguing choice. While Maxx Crosby is back after the failed trade to Baltimore, I really can't imagine a long-term future for him with the Raiders at this point. Adding edge rushing talent to prepare for a post-Crosby world would make a lot of sense, and it's not like there's a ton of depth behind him anyway.

Round 3, Pick 67

• ESPN: OT Kage Casey, Boise State
• CBS: WR Chris Bell, Louisville
• FanSided: CB Chandler Rivers, Duke

"The Raiders allowed a league-high 64 sacks in 2025. Signing center Tyler Linderbaum will help a ton, but reinforcements are needed at guard and swing tackle." - ESPN

All three of these would be interesting moves for Vegas, as all three fill positions of need. Of the three, the one I might be the most hesistant on is Louisville wide receiver Chris Bell, as I don't really see him developing into a true No. 1, leaving the Raiders in a spot where they might have too many solid receivers while lacking a true go-to guy. Meanwhile, Kage Casey would challenge for the right tackle spot while Chandler Rivers could help shore up a woeful secondary.

Round 4, Pick 102

• ESPN: CB Hezekiah Masses, Cal
• CBS: S Jalon Kilgore, South Carolina

While the earlier picks in these mock drafts for the Raiders focused on offense, Day 3 appears to largely be about shoring up the defensive depth. Both ESPN and CBS think the team should go with a defensive back at this spot, and while they differ in what kind of defensive back, the instinct from both is solid. Vegas' depth situation in the secondary looks dire heading into the 2026 season, so any level of help possible there is a smart call.

Round 4, Pick 117

• ESPN: EDGE Romello Height, Texas Tech
• CBS: CB Will Lee III, Texas A&M

Defense on Day 3 continues with pick 117, with ESPN's suggestion of Texas Tech edge rusher Romello Height standing out as particularly intriguing. While he currently lacks the size to be an every-down player, his athleticism and burst make him a very intriguing situational pass rusher. Being able to bring Height in on third downs would add an extra dimension to this defense, though the team has to be okay with using a fourth-round pick on someone who may struggle to stay on the field on early downs.

Round 4, Pick 134

• ESPN: DT Chris McClellan, Missouri
• CBS: DT Zane Durant, Penn State

It's interesting that in the two recent drafts that go seven rounds deep, there happen to be a number of synergies, like how both ESPN and CBS think that the Raiders should go with a defensive tackle at this point. Missouri's Chris McClellan is the more traditional defensive tackle of the two because of his size, but Penn State's Zane Durant is a better athlete and a very good run defender, even if he might struggle a bit more to get penetration while rushing the quarterback.

Round 5, Pick 175

• ESPN: LB Eric Gentry, USC
• CBS: RB Adam Randall, Clemson

Hey, an offensive player! And one that makes a lot of sense at this spot. Yes, the Raiders are committed to Ashton Jeanty as their every-down back, but the depth behind Jeanty puts them in a huge hole if he goes down. At the moment, Vegas has Dylan Laube and Chris Collier, two guys with a combined 12 NFL carries. It would be a disaster if one of them were pressed into action as the lead back. I'm not saying that Clemson's Adam Randall is the true answer to the Jeanty backup question, but adding him to the roster can't hurt, and he's at least an intriguing athlete as a converted receiver with massive size.

Round 6, Pick 185

• ESPN: S Ahmaad Moses, SMU
• CBS: IOL Logan Taylor, Boston College

The Raiders have temporarily solved their guard issue by moving center Jackson Powers-Johnson to right guard with the addition of Tyler Linderbaum, but JPJ is a free agent after the 2027 season, so getting another guard in the building in 2026 to see if he can potentially develop into a starter in a couple of years would be a good call. Do I think Boston College's Logan Taylor is a future starter? Ehh, not at the moment, but NFL player development always goes in some strange directions, so I wouldn't count out the possibility.

Round 6, Pick 208

• ESPN: WR CJ Daniels, Miami
• CBS: S Louis Moore, Indiana

Both of these mocks have already suggested that the Raiders should take a player at these positions, so the picks here feel illustrative of just how bad the depth at both spots is. The Raiders need backups at both safety spots, while even if they draft Denzel Boston early like the ESPN mock says, the wide receiver room could still use additions, as there are really only three guys on the current roster who feel like true locks to make the 2026 roster.

Round 7, Pick 219

• ESPN: IOL Febechi Nwaiwi, Oklahoma
• CBS: LB Kendal Daniels, Oklahoma

I kind of love the idea of the Raiders adding Oklahoma linebacker Kendal Daniels here. He's got good size for an NFL linebacker and has the speed to roam sideline-to-sideline, while a lot of his faults come back to mechanics and tackling, two things that I think you can at least work toward improving. His athletic testing numbers weren't great, but I think he's a better athlete than his 40-yard dash time indicated.