Everyone will be talking about the Las Vegas Raiders' quarterback competition between Kirk Cousins and Fernando Mendoza when the team returns to HQ for training camp in just a few short weeks. But that's not the only key position battle taking place for the Silver and Black later this summer.
The starting guard spots need to be ironed out, as does the pecking order at wide receiver, and the depth throughout the roster, especially on defense, needs to be tidied up. Safety, in particular, is a rather thin group, and the Raiders need to find a diamond in the rough to feel good about the unit.
While Jeremy Chinn and Treydan Stukes will start for Las Vegas, it remains to be seen exactly who will rotate in behind them. Returner Isaiah Pola-Mao seems like the obvious No. 3, but his play left plenty to be desired in 2025. 5th-rounder Dalton Johnson has shown promise, but he's far from a guarantee.
That's why Raider Nation needs to keep its eyes on an unexpected name during training camp: Tanner Wall.
Las Vegas Raiders may see Tanner Wall burst onto the scene at training camp
Wall joined Las Vegas as a UDFA this spring after not being selected in the 2026 NFL Draft. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound free safety is a product of BYU and was a tremendous player on the Cougars' defense last year. In a thin safety room, Wall could surprise a lot of people at Raiders training camp.
Stukes is expected to start at free safety this year, but Rob Leonard and Co. don't have a surefire solution behind him. Pola-Mao struggled in that deep safety role last year, and Johnson, for all his talent, played just as much slot corner and strong safety as free safety for the Arizona Wildcats.
Tristin McCollum has limited NFL experience playing on defense, and his time has been split between the box and playing deep anyway. Other than that, it is just Wall and a slew of other UDFA safeties like Devin Lafayette and Devyn Perkins, neither of whom are true free safeties either.
At BYU, though, Wall played 87% of his defensive snaps at free safety during the 2025 season and 89% of them at free safety in 2024. An argument certainly exists to keep him around on the 53-man roster, or at least on the practice squad, with that alone in mind.
Now, Wall is still new to the safety position. Like Darien Porter, he was converted from wide receiver to defensive back in college, but Wall took to the switch quite well. In fact, he became a First-Team All-Big 12 safety in 2025 alongside Johnson and ahead of Stukes and pre-draft favorite Bud Clark.
In just two full seasons at the spot, Wall totaled 124 combined tackles, seven interceptions with 119 return yards, one pick-six, a pass defended and a forced fumble. He also notched an 80.8 overall defensive grade and an 86.8 mark in coverage as a senior, according to Pro Football Focus.
His ability to get takeaways will be coveted by Leonard, as this new-look defense has put a premium on forcing turnovers. Yes, in a lot of ways, Wall is still a work in progress, but he has the body, pedigree, special teams ability and overall approach to really surprise some folks later this summer.
At 26 years old, Wall is an older rookie, but that should also mean that he is more developed and ready for NFL football. And maybe his lack of versatility actually works against him. But if he strings together some nice practices and preseason outings, he'll give the Raiders' staff a lot to think about.
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