The Las Vegas Raiders have officially turned the page from the Fernando Mendoza selection that they made on Day 1 of the 2026 NFL Draft. And while there is still plenty to be excited about on that front, more Raiders are being added to the fold in Rounds 2 and 3 on Friday.
After initially killing the suspense with a trade back, John Spytek held firm at pick No. 38 and selected Arizona defensive back Treydan Stukes. Not only is he a great player in a vacuum, but his versatility will make sorting through the rest of the players in this year's draft much easier for the front office.
Landing Stukes and an additional third-round pick in this deal is an exciting way for the Raiders to follow up on the ever-enticing selection of Mendoza. But one draft expert has now quickly given fans another reason to love the Stukes pick for Las Vegas.
Draft expert will make Las Vegas Raiders fans love Treydan Stukes pick even more
FanSided draft expert Mike Luciano watched Stukes' film at length during the pre-draft process and gave a review of him for Raider Nation to read. And it is a glowing one, highlighted by his great skill set and his ability to be an interchangeable piece in the secondary.
"Stukes is going to be an unusual prospect, as some teams will look at him as a big nickel who can disrupt at the point of attack, while others could use him as a roaming safety," Luciano noted. "No matter what ends up happening with him from a schematic point of view, his strong tackling ability and nose for the football will get him picked. His age and injury history, however, will prevent a first-round selection."
Stukes was getting some first-round buzz as the NFL Draft approached, but that ended up being more smoke than fire. However, Stukes is still worthy of an early selection by the Silver and Black, and his being "unusual" just may be his superpower in Las Vegas.
On the one hand, it may be hard to pin down exactly what he is best at. But the simpler answer is that he is good enough at everything to thrive everywhere, and first-year defensive coordinator Rob Leonard can rest easy knowing that he can plug Stukes in at any spot in the secondary.
Also, Stukes' injury history isn't all that concerning. He tore his ACL back in October of 2024, but he recovered fully and returned for the Wildcats' third game last year. He played the entire rest of the 2025 season after that with seemingly no issues, so they must have felt good about his medicals.
Once secondary coach Joe Woods and safeties coach Matt Robinson, both of whom have strong track records, get their hands on Stukes, the young player should become even better. A starting secondary of him, Jeremy Chinn, Darien Porter, Taron Johnson and Eric Stokes is quite formidable.
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