Raiders Team Needs For the 2026 Offseason: More Than Fernando Mendoza To Boost The Offense

Glass-half-empty: The 2025 Raiders were bad enough to land the No. 1 overall pick. Glass-half-full: The 2026 Raiders do indeed have the first pick of the 2026 NFL Draft!

The inevitable move sure seems to be selecting Heisman-winner/National Champion Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza to turn around what was objectively the single-worst team in football last season.

2025: 3-14 (-191 point differential, preseason win total: 6.5)
Points per game: 14.2 (32nd)
EPA per pass: -0.13 (29th)
EPA per rush: -0.3 (32nd)
Points per game against: 25.4 (25th)
EPA per pass against: +0.12 (23rd)
EPA per rush against: -0.09 (13th)

Unfortunately for Mendoza and the Raiders: There are several other needs that badly need to be addressed ahead of the 2026 season. We are talking about a team with the second-worst point differential in the NFL during the last two seasons after all. But hey, at least they have the third-most effective cap space in the league to work with.

What Do The Las Vegas Raiders Need To Address In The 2026 Offseason?

Need 1: Cornerback

Starter Eric Stokes is a free agent, helping lead to the Raiders boasting the league's single-cheapest cornerback room ahead of 2026.

Regardless of if Stokes is back in Las Vegas: Work needs to be done for a group that hasn't helped complement this Maxx Crosby-led pass rush in recent years.

2025: 33.6 PFF team coverage grade (29th)
2024: 31.3 (32nd)

The front office has used only one top-50 pick on the secondary in the last five drafts combined. Correcting that while also making moves on the open market in March will at least add some much-needed talent into this largely barren group.

Need 2: Wide Receiver

Only Jets and Browns WRs totaled fewer receiving yards than the Raiders last season. The decision to ship away Jakobi Meyers leaves Las Vegas with the cheapest WR room in the league in terms of 2026 dollars devoted to the position.

Tre Tucker set career-high marks across the board in 2025 and even hung an 8-145-3 receiving line against the Commanders that one time, but the 24-year-old speedster is far better off as an offense's No. 2 or (especially) No. 3 WR. The team did attempt to add some youthful talent to this room last April, although neither Jack Bech (20-224-0) nor Dont'e Thornton (10-135-0) did anything to solidify a big-time role ahead of 2026.

Good news: This is a situation where there are enough ample available resources to perhaps win a bidding war in free agency. Colts WR Alec Pierce and Seahawks WR Rashid Shaheed represent the probable top-two options available, and each possesses the sort of field-stretching ability to really help open things up underneath for Brock Bowers and Ashton Jeanty.

Need 3: Quarterback

There is a solid argument to be made that Geno Smith operated at a near top-10 level during his three years leading the Seahawks.

There is no argument to be made that Smith was anything other than one of the NFL's very worst quarterbacks in the year 2025.

EPA per dropback: -0.11 (34th)
Passer rating: 84.7 (33rd)
PFF pass grade: 58.2 (34th)
Interceptions: 17 (last)

Of course, the easiest and most obvious answer to fulfilling this problem: Draft Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 overall pick. While we know better to assume the best with any rookie QB, the 22-year-old Heisman winner possesses the sort of accuracy and quick-processing to warrant the common Jared Goff/Kirk Cousins comps.

Honorable mention

As is the case with plenty of the NFL's worst teams: There are far more than three key needs here. The offensive line could have easily earned one of the top spots after PFF ranked them as the league's single-worst unit in 2025. Simply adding new players could obviously help; just realize the Raiders have taken an NFL-high six offensive linemen inside the first three rounds in the last five drafts, so doing a better job developing the existing talent should also be a major priority. … The front seven could become a REAL problem in a hurry should the team's relationship with perennial stud EDGE Maxx Crosby deteriorate; either way some assistance is needed—the Raiders have the fifth- and second-cheapest interior defender and linebacker rooms ahead of 2026.

If I were GM …

I'd use all that available cap space to land one of the big-name free agent receivers. Field-stretching specialists in Pierce and Shaheed make the most sense, but any of Jauan Jennings, Romeo Doubs or Wan'Dale Robinson would also make for instant improvements. The real potential crown jewel would be George Pickens, although it'd be rather shocking if he doesn't get either a long-term deal or franchise tag from the Cowboys.

Players Mentioned in this Article

AshtonJeanty
RBLV
PPG
12.68
BrockBowersQ
TELV
PPG
11.85
AlecPierce
WRIND
PPG
10.65
RashidShaheed
WRSEA
PPG
6.79
Proj
4.61