Early projections for winners of the Raiders' biggest training camp battles

The Las Vegas Raiders will have their first padded practice on August 3, which makes it a good time for training camp battle projections.

Previously, we ranked the most competitive position battles, so this is a follow-up with projected winners for all five and why those players will emerge as starters.

Here are breakdowns for the most important wide-open battles based on the talent at the position and the number of contenders for the spot.

Projected winners for the Las Vegas Raiders' top five roster battles

Free safety

The Raiders will rotate several players at the safety positions. Jeremy Chinn seems like a lock to take the majority of snaps at strong safety in the box, though the defense needs a reliable deep coverage defender.

Isaiah Pola-Mao is the incumbent. General manager John Spytek drafted rookies Treydan Stukes and Dalton Johnson in the second and fifth rounds, respectively.

Stukes played fewer snaps at free safety than his Arizona teammate Johnson in college, but as the early pick, he'll likely have more opportunities to secure a solid role.

During the spring, Stukes lined up at his natural position in the slot while Taron Johnson was away from the team due to a contract dispute. With some reps as part of the first-team defense, he should be in line to slide over to center field.

At free safety, Stukes will beat out Pola-Mao, who gave up six touchdowns in coverage last season.

Winner: Treydan Stukes

No. 2 cornerback

Jermod McCoy reported to training camp healthy, and he's ready to compete against Darien Porter for the lead position opposite boundary cornerback Eric Stokes.

Last year, Porter had brief stretches of solid play, though his inexperience led to some struggles in coverage. He allowed a passer rating of 100.9 in 17 games (10 starts) and missed 10.6% of his tackle attempts.

Between 2023 and 2024, with Oregon State and Tennessee, McCoy recorded 75 tackles (one for loss), 16 pass breakups and six interceptions. In January of 2025, he tore his ACL and sat out his final collegiate campaign.

Almost 20 months removed from injury, McCoy begins his comeback journey by knocking off a less-experienced competitor for a starting job. If he makes it through training camp healthy, the Raiders name him the starter over Porter.

Winner: Jermod McCoy

Right Guard

There are five notable players in competition for the guard spots. With three-time Pro Bowler Tyler Linderbaum at center, Jackson Powers-Johnson has picked up where he left off last season at right guard.

Powers-Johnson suffered a season-ending injury in Week 10 of the previous season, but he showed improvement as a pass-blocker before going down. According to Pro Football Focus, the gritty interior lineman only allowed two pressures (zero sacks) over his last two outings.

It would be a surprise if Powers-Johnson doesn't start at guard, given his second-round draft status and solid play while healthy. Though if injuries are an issue for him again, second-year pro Caleb Rogers or rookie third-rounder Trey Zuhn III could slide into this position.

Winner: Jackson Powers-Johnson

Left guard

Dylan Parham's departure in free agency opened up a void at left guard. The Raiders could move Jordan Meredith back to that position where he played in 2024, but head coach Klint Kubiak may prefer a familiar face in that spot.

As the San Francisco 49ers' passing game coordinator for the 2023 season, Kubiak coached Spencer Burford, who played right guard that year. The Raiders signed him to a modest $3.25 million deal, but his experience in this offense should bode well for him in a competitive battle.

Also, Burford just turned 26 and is two years younger than Meredith. Kubiak could see more possible development in the former as he implements his offense in Las Vegas.

Winner: Spencer Burford

Kicker

Some fans have overlooked the kicking battle, though it's an even competition.

The Raiders signed Matt Gay, whose field-goal percentage has been worse than 84% for three consecutive seasons, and undrafted rookie Kansei Matsuzawa.

In his final collegiate season at Hawaii, Matsuzawa converted on 27 of 29 field-goal attempts and made all 40 of his extra-point tries. If he's mostly accurate at practices and throughout the preseason, the Raiders could tab the 27-year-old rookie as their kicker over a 32-year-old journeyman.

"The Tokyo Toe" wins this battle.

Winner: Kansei Matsuzawa

Moe Moton writes about the Raiders for Just Blog Baby. You can follow him on Twitter at @MoeMoton.

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