The Las Vegas Raiders went through one of the worst seasons in franchise history in 2025. It was particularly disappointing because of the high expectations that Pete Carroll and members of the national media placed on the team, seemingly from the beginning of training camp.
In the end, Las Vegas finished just 3-14, and Carroll was fired the day after the season concluded. But there appears to be a light at the end of the tunnel, as the season-long struggles allowed the franchise to land the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
While it is widely expected that they will use the pick to select Fernando Mendoza, that is hardly the only avenue that general manager John Spytek has to improve the team. The Raiders recently topped a list ranking teams based on the resources they have available this offseason.
John Spytek has put the Raiders in an enviable position with offseason resources
The Raiders have plenty of work to do this offseason. That much is not a matter of opinion, but rather a fact. They have already gotten off to a strong start by hiring head coach Klint Kubiak, who is in the process of building a young but experienced coaching staff.
While Las Vegas holding the No. 1 overall pick has gotten plenty of attention, the rest of its offseason resources have been largely ignored. NFL.com's Zak Koeppel did not make that mistake, ranking the Raiders atop his list of offseason resources, which combines draft capital and cap space.
"As minority owner Tom Brady and new coach Klint Kubiak get a new era underway in Las Vegas, the Raiders have the assets to quickly recharge their roster. First, Las Vegas is projected to have over $90 million in cap space with which to add new talent around core pieces like Ashton Jeanty, Brock Bowers and (unless he is traded for presumably more draft capital) Maxx Crosby. Then, in April, they are set to pick first overall in a draft for the first time since they chose JaMarcus Russell in 2007 -- and they're primed to take another QB in Fernando Mendoza out of Indiana. If they play their cards right, the Raiders could walk away as the winners of the 2026 offseason."
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Koeppel noted that the Raiders rank second in both cap space and draft capital, giving them plenty of avenues to improve the roster. Of course, there are plenty of holes to fill, as virtually every positional room could use an upgrade.
While Spytek has made it clear that he wants to build through the draft rather than overpaying free agents, Las Vegas is in a great position to make upgrades all over the roster. They can use their cap space to focus on one or two top free agents, with names such as Tyler Linderbaum, Devin Lloyd, John Franklin-Myers, and Braden Smith standing out as potential targets, while also adding depth.
Spytek can then turn to the draft to continue to add young talent to a roster that currently has nine picks remaining from his first-ever rookie class. After presumably selecting Mendoza, he is expected to be armed with nine more picks. Perhaps more if he trades back multiple times again.
If the Raiders' front office can hit in both free agency and the draft, it would not be a surprise to see them follow the footsteps of teams such as the New England Patriots, Chicago Bears, and Jacksonville Jaguars, who quickly turned things around in the first year under a new head coach.