Whether it was poor coaching, a roster that lacked difference-makers, or likely some strong cocktail of both, the Las Vegas Raiders struggled immensely during the 2025 NFL season and were in need of a massive talent influx this offseason.
Thankfully, in his second year at the helm, John Spytek delivered. He brought in a handful of instant impact veterans in free agency and landed a number of promising prospects in the 2026 NFL Draft. This team is almost unrecognizable from a year ago.
But that also means that a lot of the holdovers from previous regimes are slowly sliding down the depth chart. And although the Raiders added bodies at these players’ positions this offseason, and their jobs may be at risk, Las Vegas can’t give up on them yet.
5 Las Vegas Raiders who still deserve a spot even with heavy investments at their position
Darien Porter, CB
Las Vegas drafted two very promising cornerbacks in Jermod McCoy and Hezekiah Masses. The former was a top-15 talent in the draft class, and Masses was a ballhawk last season at Cal. And both could push for playing time on the boundary as rookies.
Porter had a very good rookie season, however, and even though he seemed like a Pete Carroll pick, he showed too much promise to cast him to the side. Unless both McCoy and Masses are too good to keep off the field, the Raiders need to keep developing and playing Porter this season.
Caleb Rogers, G
The Raiders signing Tyler Linderbaum made Jackson Powers-Johnson and Jordan Meredith exclusively guards. Then, Las Vegas signed veteran Spencer Burford and drafted Trey Zuhn III in the third round. Suddenly, that is a lot of competition for Rogers.
However, Rogers flashed quite a bit in his sparse opportunities as a rookie, and he should be firmly in the running for a starting job. At one point in the offseason, he seemed like a surefire starter, and the Raiders can’t just cast him aside.
Dont’e Thornton Jr., WR
Thornton Jr. was the talk of training camp last season, and he showed some real stuff in the preseason and beginning of the 2025 campaign. But his production and workload steadily dropped as the year went on, and he didn’t get any better.
Adding Jalen Nailor and Malik Benson, two other speedsters, is a major threat to Thornton Jr.’s snap share. But the second-year player still has too much untapped potential for Las Vegas to move on already, and he should be given a fair shake to earn a role.
Dylan Laube, RB
Laube was once the next Christian McCaffrey to a sect of Raider Nation. And while that projection was always a bit too optimistic, Laube still has a unique skill set that Las Vegas can utilize. He just needs the right coaching and some stability, for once.
Yes, Ashton Jeanty is the bellow, and the recent additions of Mike Washington Jr. and Roman Hemby can be perceived as a threat. But Laube could still be a contributor for the Raiders if they give him another chance and really try to develop him and ask him to do what he’s good at.
Tommy Eichenberg, LB
Signing Nakobe Dean and Quay Walker was always bad news for the rest of the Raiders’ linebacker corps. But Eichenberg has been patiently waiting his turn on special teams for a few years and doing what the coaches ask. That should not go to waste.
Without a clear-cut third linebacker to rotate in behind Dean and Walker, though, the Raiders need someone to step up. Even though they signed Segun Olubi and drafted Cody Lindenberg a year ago, Las Vegas shouldn’t look beyond Eichenberg for linebacker help.
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