The Las Vegas Raiders spent a miserable 2025 season stumbling to a 3-14 record, but the offseason gave them a clean path to something better. They landed the number one pick and used it to find what could be their franchise quarterback in Fernando Mendoza. They also had the cap space to make real moves, and John Spytek used it.
The biggest additions came on both sides of the ball. On offense, Tyler Linderbaum arrives to steady the line and give the Raiders one of the best centers in football.
On defense, the team added linebackers Quay Walker and Nakobe Dean in free agency, then kept building from there. The Raiders also upgraded the secondary in the draft, brought back Eric Stokes, and traded for veteran Taron Johnson.
Kwity Paye is in the mix too as a depth piece on the defensive line who can help against the run and bring pressure off the edge.
That overhaul matters because the market still isn’t buying a huge leap. FanDuel Sportsbook has Las Vegas at 5.5 wins, a number that reflects how much work still has to be done.
The offense should have a chance to function under new head coach Klint Kubiak, who is expected to keep finding ways to attack defensive matchups. But the real swing factor is on the other side of the ball.
Rob Leonard takes over as defensive coordinator, and that’s where the Raiders’ path to beating the projection starts to come into focus. Leonard has been around the defensive line since 2023, the same season Malcolm Koonce and Maxx Crosby terrorized quarterbacks.
Per PFF, the two combined for 146 pressures and 22.5 sacks. Adam Butler also chipped in with 5.0 sacks in a year that helped the Raiders finish top 10 in points allowed for the first time since 2002.
That’s the standard Las Vegas has to chase again. If Leonard can get this defense back anywhere near that level, six wins starts to look reachable. The Raiders have also had the Maxx Crosby trade voided, which only adds to the sense that the roster has a real chance to be better than people expect.
No one is lining up to crown the Silver and Black before the season starts. But with a new quarterback, a reshaped roster, and a young defensive coordinator in charge, the Raiders have a real shot to surprise the league. For Raider Nation, the bar is simpler: after such a disappointing 2025 season, just show they can be competitive week to week.
In Other News...
Raiders Could Finally Have A Real Shot At A True No. 1
The Raiders still do not have a clear-cut No. 1 wide receiver, and that reality has kept the conversation alive about when they might finally take a big swing at the position. If no current pass catcher steps forward by 2026, Las Vegas could be in the market for a major addition in the 2027 offseason, with Ohio State standout Jeremiah Smith already viewed as a likely top receiver in that draft and a natural fit for what the offense wants to do.
There is also the veteran route to consider, even if it is only in the realm of speculation for now. Justin Jefferson has been floated as a possible name to watch if Minnesotas situation pushes him toward change, and the idea of him landing in Las Vegas would instantly reshape the outlook for a receiver room that has been searching for a true alpha. For the Raiders, it is the kind of possibility that keeps the door open on a much bigger move than the one they are currently able to make. [Read more 🡒]
Klint Kubiaks QB Competition Message Leaves Raiders Fans Wanting More
Klint Kubiak spent part of his latest comments trying to strike a careful balance in the Raiders quarterback competition, backing both Fernando Mendoza and Kirk Cousins without tipping his hand too far in either direction. He pointed to Cousins final four games in Atlanta last season as evidence the veteran can still help, while also saying Mendoza has gotten a ton better and has been diligent, even if he stopped well short of laying out exactly how that progress will show up once the competition really starts.
The more Kubiak talked, the more he sounded like a coach determined to keep the room on a pure merit basis and avoid creating any extra layers of responsibility around it. Asked about mentorship and the challenges that come with moving into the head coaching role, he stayed broad, leaning on the scouting staff and the infrastructure around him rather than naming a specific blind spot, which leaves the Raiders with a familiar offseason question still hanging in the air: how this competition is supposed to unfold, and what kind of support system will actually shape it. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Fans May Need To Rethink Patrick Graham After This
Patrick Grahams run as the Raiders defensive coordinator is getting a fresh look now that he has moved on to a new opportunity in Pittsburgh. For Las Vegas fans, the debate around his tenure has always been a little more complicated than the raw results, because the defense was operating within a larger team-building approach that did not always match up with the kind of investment other contenders made on that side of the ball.
The Steelers are giving Graham a different kind of setup, one that comes with a more talented and more expensive defensive roster than he had in Las Vegas. That matters because it gives him a chance to show what his scheme can do with better pieces around it, and it also leaves Raiders fans wondering how much of the criticism he took here was really about coaching and how much was about the circumstances he inherited. [Read more 🡒]