Raiders praised after Day 2 haul
- Las Vegas used Day 2 of the 2026 NFL Draft to trade down with Houston, then added Arizona safety Treydan Stukes, Auburn edge rusher Keyron Crawford and Texas A&M lineman Trey Zuhn III. - The trade sent picks No. 36 and No. 117 to the Texans for No. 38 and No. 91, giving the Raiders four top-100 selections after taking quarterback Fernando Mendoza first overall. - Reviews cast the class as part of a broader Raiders reset under John Spytek and Klint Kubiak, with analysts praising depth and value. (sports.yahoo.com)
The Raiders turned Day 2 into a depth play, trading down and coming away with three more top-100 picks around No. 1 quarterback Fernando Mendoza. (raiders.com) (espn.com) Las Vegas sent No. 36 and No. 117 to Houston for No. 38 and No. 91, then used those Day 2 picks on Treydan Stukes, Keyron Crawford and Trey Zuhn III. (raiders.com) (sportingnews.com) Stukes went at No. 38 after ESPN noted the Raiders entered the draft with only three safeties on the roster, and his 2025 usage included 363 slot snaps and 161 at safety. (espn.com) Crawford followed at No. 67, and Zuhn at No. 91 gave Las Vegas a lineman after the club used its first two Friday picks on defense. (raiders.com) (reviewjournal.com) The shape of the class is the point. After opening the draft with Mendoza at No. 1, the Raiders left Friday with four top-100 selections and multiple players tied to immediate roster needs. (espn.com) (raiders.com) Yahoo Sports called the Raiders one of the draft’s winners and said the club “continue[d]” a strong offseason, arguing the work after Mendoza mattered as much as the obvious quarterback pick. (sports.yahoo.com) The Athletic’s post-draft takeaways said several later additions, including Stukes and Zuhn, could make impacts in 2026, while identifying fourth-round cornerback Jermod McCoy as one of the weekend’s best value bets. (nytimes.com) By Saturday’s end, the Raiders had drafted 10 players, with Mendoza still the headline but Day 2 doing much of the roster-building work underneath him. (raiders.com) (sportingnews.com) That is why the reaction centered less on one pick than on the Raiders’ board management: move back, add No. 91, and leave Friday with three more shots to fill holes. (raiders.com) (sports.yahoo.com)
