Before Klint Kubiak was a Super Bowl-winning offensive coordinator and the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, he was a player. Kubiak was a starting strong safety and captain for the Colorado State Rams in the Mountain West, racking up 187 tackles and 3 interceptions in his five-year career.
Even though he originally played on the defensive side of the ball, Kubiak has risen through the ranks as an offensive coach in the NFL, just like his father, Gary, did. But Kubiak told reporters back at his introductory press conference that his secret is that he'll always see the game as a safety.
"I think I'll always see it that way; see it from the back end. When you're in the pass game-wise, when you're thinking about what's going to give them problems, that's kind of where I would start putting myself in that situation. ... I've always felt like I had it from a defensive perspective."
Well, it takes a good former safety to recognize a good current safety. And Kubiak seems to know what Raider Nation knows, which is that the Silver and Black need to bolster the back end of their defense, and that April's draft is the best way of doing that at this juncture in the offseason.
Las Vegas Raiders HC Klint Kubiak knows team must address safety position
Lonnie Johnson Jr. signed with the Miami Dolphins in free agency, leaving Las Vegas with just three safeties on the roster. When asked about potentially upgrading the unit or bolstering the depth of it during the NFL Annual League Meeting on Tuesday, Kubiak echoed what fans have said all offseason.
"I think we got to get deeper," Kubiak said of the safety room. "It's a good draft for that position. I think we got three guys that we're working with right now. We got to continue to build that depth."
And while fans agree that the depth, from a pure numbers and talent perspective, needs to be built up, perhaps Kubiak is even underselling the Raiders' desperate need for an upgrade on the back end. Jeremy Chinn performed well last year, but Isaiah Pola-Mao's play left plenty to be desired.
Several veteran options are still out there for Las Vegas to boost the free safety position. But Kubiak is right; this is a great draft class for young safeties, and with 10 picks, the Raiders would be fools to leave without at least one, but preferably two young players at the position.
It would take a miracle for elite options like Ohio State's Caleb Downs or Oregon's Dillion Thieneman to still be available when Las Vegas is back on the clock at No. 36. But perhaps another great player with a high ceiling, like Toledo's Emmanuel McNeil-Warren or LSU's AJ Haulcy are still on the board.
Even mid-round prospects like TCU's Bud Clark, Arizona's Genesis Smith, USC's Kamari Ramsey and Penn State's Zakee Wheatley would represent at least promising depth, but probably a potential upgrade to Pola-Mao, who struggled playing out of position as the deep safety last year.
Only Tristin McCollum is rostered by the Raiders as a backup to Pola-Mao and Chinn, so Las Vegas should add at least two safeties. Late-rounders like Indiana's Louis Moore, Kansas State's VJ Payne, Texas Tech's Cole Wisniewski, Miami's Jakobe Thomas or Texas' Michael Taaffe could help out.
Simply put, this Raiders roster is not done coming together, and Kubiak sees what the fanbase sees: Las Vegas needs significant upgrades at safety, and the 2026 NFL Draft is a great place to get started on that mission.