With the current state of the Las Vegas Raiders’ roster, John Spytek and the front office almost can’t go wrong with who they end up selecting in the 2026 NFL Draft. The team is littered with holes, whether it be their need for several impact Day 1 starters or depth in practically every room.
But juggling those needs and maximizing the Raiders’ 10 picks is the challenge ahead for the second-year GM. He must ace the test. And although it may not be talked about much after signing a duo of big-ticket players at the position in free agency, Las Vegas still needs more linebackers.
Quay Walker and Nakobe Dean are a formidable duo in the middle of the defense, but the latter’s injury history is something to be weary of, and the Raiders don’t have much proven talent behind them. But the 2026 class is set to have a myriad of great linebackers in every round of the draft.
And yet somehow, almost every pundit is waiting too long to address the position in their final mock draft, or ignoring the room altogether. For the final time, we take a look at a batch expert mock drafts for the Raiders, and no matter how great a haul they get, they seemingly all have that flaw in common.
Las Vegas Raiders 2026 NFL mock draft round up proves John Spytek has several avenues to success
First up is ESPN’s Jordan Reid, one of the leading draft analysts. The selections of Johnson and Lomu are stout, as are the late-round swings for Gill-Howard, Smith and Fano. But Reid doesn’t draft a linebacker at any point, instead drafting a kicker who isn’t even considered the best in the class.
1.01 - Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana
2.36 - Caleb Lomu, OT, Utah
3.67 - Chris Bell, WR, Louisville
4.102 - Genesis Smith, SAF, Arizona
4.117 - Ja'Kobi Lane, WR, USC
4.134 - Emmett Johnson, RB, Nebraska
5.175 - Skyler Gill-Howard, DT, Texas Tech
6.185 - Avery Smith, CB, Toledo
6.208 - Logan Fano, EDGE, Utah
7.219 - Dominic Zvada, K, Michigan
Raiders.com’s Paul Gutierrez at least drafted a linebacker in his mock exercise with Daniels in Round 5. But he’s not considered one of the premier players in the class, and Gutierrez passed on several potential options in Round 4, instead opting for a pair of questionable offensive linemen.
1.01 - Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana
2.36 - Kayden McDonald, DT, Ohio State
3.67 - Zachariah Branch, WR, Georgia
4.102 - Malik Muhammad, CB, Texas
4.117 - Tristan Leigh, OT, Clemson
4.134 - Logan Taylor, OL, Boston College
5.175 - Kendal Daniels, LB, Oklahoma
6.185 - Wydett Williams Jr., SAF, Ole Miss
6.208 - Max Bredeson, FB, Michigan
7.219 - Kansei Matsuzawa, K, Hawai'i
Levi Edwards, Gutierrez’s counterpart at Raiders.com, landed a great haul in his mock draft. But he fell into the same trap, waiting until even later for a linebacker, not taking Perkins until Round 6. To be fair, Perkins was considered a first-round talent ahead of this year, so he at least has a fairly high ceiling.
1.01 - Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana
2.36 - Christen Miller, DT, Georgia
3.67 - Elijah Sarratt, WR, Indiana
4.102 - Bud Clark, SAF, TCU
4.117 - Jude Bowry, OT, Boston College
4.134 - Jalon Kilgore, DB, South Carolina
5.175 - Emmett Johnson, RB, Nebraska
6.185 - Harold Perkins Jr., LB, LSU
6.208 - Cole Payton, QB, North Dakota State
7.219 - Dominic Zvada, K, Michigan
Sam Warren, new to coverage in Las Vegas at The Athletic, took his first stab at a mock draft, and he made some bold moves. He had the Raiders trading back into the second round, giving them fewer picks in the event. Unfortunately, the fallout of that was no linebacker selections, a potential mistake.
1.01 - Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana
2.36 - Denzel Boston, WR, Washington
***TRADE 3.67 and 4.117 for 2.54***
2.54 - Christen Miller, DT, Georgia
4.102 - Markel Bell, OT, Miami
4.134 - Kamari Ramsey, SAF, USC
5.175 - Kage Casey, OL, Boise State
6.185 - Hezekiah Masses, CB, California
6.208 - Kaelon Black, RB, Indiana
7.219 - Lorenzo Styles Jr., SAF, Ohio State
Chad Reuter of NFL.com also released his final 7-round mock draft, and it is hard to be upset with the first five picks. But he went haywire late on Day 3, opting for a kicker early in the sixth round and taking Gentry shortly after. Gentry isn’t a premier linebacker in this class and would be a reach there.
1.01 - Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana
2.36 - Peter Woods, DT, Clemson
3.67 - Chris Bell, WR, Louisville
4.102 - Kamari Ramsey, SAF, USC
4.117 - Devin Moore, CB, Florida
4.134 - Demond Claiborne, RB, Wake Forest
5.175 - Markel Bell, OT, Miami
6.185 - Drew Stevens, K, Iowa
6.208 - Eric Gentry, LB, USC
7.219 - Beau Stephens, IOL, Iowa
NFL Network’s Cynthia Frelund even joined the gang at Raiders.com and did her best at a seven-round mock draft. And she made some great selections. But, in keeping with the theme, she didn’t have a linebacker in the cards for Las Vegas at any point in the event.
1.01 - Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana
2.36 - Christen Miller, DT, Georgia
3.67 - Elijah Sarratt, WR, Indiana
4.102 - Tacario Davis, CB, Washington
4.117 - Jude Bowry, OT, Boston College
4.134 - Bud Clark, SAF, TCU
5.175 - Jeff Caldwell, WR, Cincinnati
6.185 - Bishop Fitzgerald, SAF, USC
6.208 - D.J. Campbell, G, Texas
7.219 - Collin Wright, CB, Stanford
Finally, ESPN’s Ryan McFadden took a stab at a seven-round mock draft, and much like Edwards, he made a great handful of selections. But he also fell into the same pattern, neglecting to take a linebacker.
1.01 - Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana
2.36 - Kayden McDonald, DT, Ohio State
3.67 - Bud Clark, SAF, TCU
4.102 - Malik Muhammad, CB, Texas
4.117 - Ja'Kobi Lane, WR, USC
4.134 - Travis Burke, OT, Memphis
5.175 - Beau Stephens, IOL, Iowa
6.185 - Kaelon Black, RB, Indiana
6.208 - Jalen Huskey, SAF, Maryland
7.219 - Trey Smack, K, Florida
Taking a late-round linebacker in this year’s draft is stomachable. But ignoring the position altogether feels a bit careless for a Raiders team relying on Dean to be a starter, who has played just 30 games in the last three seasons.
The experts don’t seem to be prioritizing linebacker for Las Vegas, but it’ll be interesting to see how it actually pans out this weekend.
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