Breven Honda
The Las Vegas Raiders are officially one week away from being on the clock with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Final preparations are underway for John Spytek’s second draft and his first with a full offseason to build his board from scratch.
Here are five takeaways from Spytek and Assistant General Manager Brian Stark’s pre-draft press conference Tuesday at Raiders headquarters in Henderson.
The No. 1 pick
It’s as close to a lock as you’ll get in the NFL: the Las Vegas Raiders plan to make the first overall selection. But Spytek isn’t pretending his phone has been quiet.
“We’ve gotten a few calls, and those teams know where they stand,” Spytek said.
The luxury of picking first is that the Raiders control their own destiny. No contingency planning. No waiting to see how the board falls.
“A lot less energy spent on hypotheticals,” Spytek said. “(Stark and I) were talking before we came down, and there’s only one team that can get the exact person that they want. We have that option available to us this year, if we so choose. Outside of that, it’s not much different.”
Also read: Zachariah Branch to Las Vegas Raiders: Why No. 36 Pick Could Land a Hometown Legend
How NIL and the Transfer Portal affect the Raiders, NFL
The college landscape has fundamentally changed how NFL teams evaluate talent, and the Raiders are adjusting accordingly.
Players cycle through the transfer portal every year chasing Name, Image and Likeness money, which means scouts have to track prospects across multiple programs and build trust with sources at each stop.
“Especially with the portal and the NIL world, our evaluations start the moment these kids get to college,” Stark said. “You have to be aware of them a little bit earlier because you have to know the sources you can talk to to learn about these prospects. With any of these guys that have transferred, we’re exhausting every resource at every school they’ve been to — where they started, where they’ve transferred to — and the evaluations, they’re constantly evolving right up until the draft.”
The most prominent example on Las Vegas’ radar: presumptive No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza, who transferred from UC Berkeley to Indiana, where he won a national championship. His path illustrates exactly why scouts can’t just evaluate a player in one place anymore.
Safety Depth Works in the Raiders’ Favor
The Las Vegas Raiders currently carry four safeties on the roster — Jeremy Chinn, Terrell Edmunds, Tristin McCollum and Isaiah Pola-Mao — but Spytek made clear the position still needs attention. Fortunately, this year’s safety class gives them options at every stage of the draft.
“From top to bottom, there are some guys you would expect to go in the first round,” Spytek said. “And all the way through to Day 3, there are some quality players there. Historically, if you look for the right things and find the right guy, that’s a spot where you can find quality players maybe later in the draft. Maybe there are some teams that don’t value them as much.”
Stark echoed that the depth extends well beyond one position.
“It feels like it’s a good safety group,” Stark said. “There’s a good group of offensive linemen. There’s a good group of receivers. Some position groups are pretty deep in the class — players should have opportunity all through the draft.”
Related: Las Vegas Raiders: 5 Defensive Backs to watch for NFL Draft Day 2
Finding “Sexy” Offensive linemen
The Raiders’ history with drafting offensive linemen has been uneven, to put it charitably. Kolton Miller, selected in the first round eight years ago, has been a reliable blindside presence. Alex Leatherwood, taken two picks later in 2021, was a bust. Jackson Powers-Johnson, a second-round pick two years ago, has been solid when healthy.
Now, with Powers-Johnson, Miller and newly signed center Tyler Linderbaum — who became the league’s highest-paid center — Las Vegas has a foundation. The priority now is building out the rest of the line to protect quarterback Kirk Cousins and running back Ashton Jeanty.
Spytek isn’t shy about where offensive line ranks on his list.
“I’ve never been anywhere where you don’t feel like you have too many offensive linemen,” Spytek said. “They’re such a hard position to acquire, whether it is in the draft — and almost impossible in free agency. Just because we added guys through free agency doesn’t mean we won’t be looking for offensive linemen. I’m on record for saying, ‘They’re sexy as hell,’ and I stand by that.”
Related: Las Vegas Raiders Expected to Boost Fernando Mendoza’s Supporting Cast Early in NFL Draft
The Raiders Won’t Shy Away From Trades
In Spytek’s first draft as Las Vegas general manager, he made two trades in the second round to accumulate value, and he’s signaling that approach isn’t going anywhere.
Last year, he dealt the No. 37 and No. 143 picks to Miami and received a second-, third- and fourth-round pick in return, ultimately yielding offensive tackle Aireontae Ersery, guard Caleb Rogers and defensive tackle Tonka Hemingway. He then moved the No. 48 pick to Houston for the No. 58 and No. 99 picks, landing wide receiver Jack Bech and offensive tackle Charles Grant.
“Open to all options,” Spytek said. “I didn’t think we were going to trade down in the second round twice last year. We felt the trade offers were too good to pass up. If someone’s looking to bail and we think there’s a high-quality player we can go get, we’ll certainly consider it. If someone’s offering us too much not to pick, then we’ll do that, too.”
Roster construction — whether through sliding back in the first round or executing Day 3 pick swaps — remains central to how Spytek is building this team.
Related: Jack Bech and Dont’e Thornton Are Auditioning for Their Jobs With the Las Vegas Raiders in 2026
