It hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing for the Las Vegas Raiders’ rookie class to begin the 2026 NFL season. Fernando Mendoza, the headliner, is still waiting in the wings, and only a handful of the team’s 10 first-year players are being asked to take on big roles.
And the results have been fairly mixed, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as the future looks incredibly bright for this group. These youngsters are contributing when called upon and showing serious potential, so there is a lot to be excited about.
That said, evaluating them honestly is a must, just as we have done every week up to this point. So, here’s what the gradebook shows for this past April’s draft class after a Week 6 loss to the Buffalo Bills, both for this game and for the season as a whole.
Las Vegas Raiders rookie report card after Week 6 loss to Bills
Fernando Mendoza
N/A - Did not play
If you want in-depth analysis of how close the rookie may be to taking over for Kirk Cousins, check out our weekly Mendoza Meter.
Treydan Stukes
Grade: A-
Stukes put up big numbers against Buffalo, recording nine tackles, five of them solo, and adding a pass breakup to his stat sheet, which came on a nice play in man coverage in the end zone. He did have a penalty and gave up a few short catches, but Stukes was on his game last Sunday.
Season GPA: 3.00
Keyron Crawford
N/A- On season-ending IR
Trey Zuhn III
Grade: C
Zuhn III continues to be featured several times per game in jumbo packages, and he plays a handful of snaps on special teams. He fared well again in those chances, making no glaring errors, but with such a small sample size and nothing jumping off the screen, it's hard to award him more than a C.
Season GPA: 2.38
Jermod McCoy
Grade: C
Unlike last week, McCoy did not get to play on defense, but he logged another 23 special teams snaps, split between kickoff coverage, punt return and kick or extra point block. McCoy hasn't made any big plays but hasn't been culpable for giving up any, so he remains somewhere in the middle.
Season GPA: 1.86
Mike Washington Jr.
Grade: A-
Washington Jr. stepped into a bigger role against the Bills, playing a career-high number of snaps. He had one fewer carry than Ashton Jeanty and logged twice as many yards, gaining 43 on 9 attempts while also catching a seven-yard pass and pass-blocking well. Washington Jr. is in for a role increase.
Season GPA: 2.60
Dalton Johnson
N/A- Did Not Play
Season GPA: 1.3
Zeke Masses
Grade: A
Masses only played 19 defensive snaps on Sunday, and he did get called for a penalty, but he also made a nice quarterback hit on on a corner blitz and was only targeted once, forcing an incompletion. If he can clean up penalties and grow in the run game, Masses will be awesome in Las Vegas.
Season GPA: 2.88
Malik Benson
Grade: C
Benson was not targeted in his eight offensive snaps. He did make two better decisions on punt returns, not returning either, but it is hard to act like he had some big impact on the game.
Season GPA: 1.90
Brandon Cleveland
N/A- On practice squad
Overall takeaways: This group didn't make any catastrophic errors and they had their share of moments against one of the NFL's goliaths. If they can keep chipping away at it, this class can be looked back on as transformational down the line.
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