Without the privilege of time and perspective, it is hard to know exactly how to grade John Spytek's first two draft classes with the Las Vegas Raiders. But most experts would indicate that, despite some putrid results on the field in Year 1, the Raiders' young general manager is faring quite well.
Last year, he landed an ultra-talented running back in Ashton Jeanty, a pair of promising offensive linemen in Caleb Rogers and Charles Grant, and a trio of young players who have already shown flashes in wide receiver Jack Bech, defensive tackle Tonka Hemingway and cornerback Darien Porter.
Spytek added to that young core this year with Fernando Mendoza, a potential All-Pro cornerback in Jermod McCoy and three other nice secondary pieces, a nice complementary running back in Mike Washington Jr., a traitsy edge in Keyron Crawford, and a versatile offensive lineman in Trey Zuhn III.
And a look at some advanced analytics proves that these prospects, no matter where they come from or what position they play, all have a key thing in common: Their immense athletic ability. Spytek clearly has a type.
Las Vegas Raiders GM John Spytek is putting a premium on elite athletes in NFL Draft
According to NFL Next Gen Stats, the Raiders' draft picks had the third-highest average athleticism score when factoring in the first seven players selected by a team. They narrowly trailed the Chicago Bears and Buffalo Bills and tied with the San Francisco 49ers and New Orleans Saints.
That is some good company for Spytek's team to be in. But he isn't just drafting based on physical traits or freak athletic ability. Also, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, Las Vegas had the ninth-most productive draft class among its first seven picks. So they're threading the needle quite well.
To put a bow on this, Steven Patton from Patton Analytics posted a graph that delineates teams into categories. Some teams value prospects with better physical or athletic traits, and some prefer players with bona fine production. The best ones are able to find prospects who have both.
Just take a look at where the Raiders land.
The age old debate pic.twitter.com/tye8SfsHv6
— Steven Patton (@PattonAnalytics) April 26, 2026
More traits and more production. So, you're saying we can have both? A good portion of the fanbase probably didn't even know that that was an option, based on the way that the Silver and Black have drafted in recent years. But Spytek is getting the job done.
Yes, by Relative Athletic Score (RAS), the Raiders had the 30th-ranked draft class. But comparing RAS between teams is flawed because too many prospects don't qualify for a score because they didn't test. (Hint: They're sitting out because their draft stock is set, or they wouldn't have tested well).
But here is the RAS (scored on a scale of 0.00-10.00) of each player drafted by the Raiders over the last two years, and tell me if you see a pattern.
Jack Bech: 9.26
Caleb Rogers: 9.00
Charles Grant: 5.77
Dont'e Thornton Jr.: 9.85
Tonka Hemingway: 9.46
J.J. Pegues: 4.92
Tommy Mellott: 9.68
Cody Lindenberg: 8.16
Treydan Stukes: 9.76
Trey Zuhn III: 9.99
Jermod McCoy: 9.68
Mike Washington Jr.: 9.88
Dalton Johnson 6.00
Hezekiah Masses: 3.39
Malik Benson: 6.06
Brandon Cleveland: 5.10
It seems like, by and large, and particularly in the first few rounds, the Raiders are putting a premium on supreme athletic ability. Clearly, Las Vegas feels confident enough in its staff to develop players with elite physical or athletic traits, but they're also nabbing players with great production, too.
All of this is to say: Spytek has a type. So, when you're watching college football or other NFL teams play this fall, keep your eyes on the lightning-fast and freakishly agile types. They just might end up wearing Silver and Black a year or two later.
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