Under the guidance of John Spytek and Klint Kubiak, the Las Vegas Raiders have been rebuilding this offseason. Now, they won't come out and say that, but almost every move they've made over the past few months has clearly been with an eye on the future. And it is about time they took this approach.
But that doesn't mean that the Silver and Black aren't capable of surprising people during the 2026 NFL season. Teams go from worst to first all the time, and if anyone can do it, in theory, it's the team that made a mountain of improvements during the offseason on the staff and throughout the roster.
Between hiring a new coach with a strong pedigree, adding a quarterback with the No. 1 pick in the draft and spending boatloads of money on strong veterans in free agency, this Las Vegas team is practically unrecognizable from last year.
Does that mean they'll win the AFC West? Probably not. But one writer made a case for the team doing so, and it is definitely convincing enough.
Case for Las Vegas Raiders winning the AFC West isn't as far-fetched as some think
NFL.com's Kevin Patra performed an exercise in which he made an argument for and against each team in the AFC West winning the division. While he still managed to sneak some shots in at the Silver and Black, Patra's case is actually convincing enough for fans to be more optimistic.
"The case for Las Vegas winning the division:Â Admittedly, this is by far the most difficult case to make in this exercise. But there are several promising components in Vegas. If you squint, perhaps you could see the Raiders catching fire and doing the unthinkable.
"Klint Kubiak can coach offense. The first-year head man has proven he knows how to put his players in a position to make plays. How he fares in the big chair remains to be seen, but Vegas should easily have a more productive offense than it did a year ago.
"The combination of Kirk Cousins and Fernando Mendoza puts Vegas in a much better spot at the most important position on the club. Cousins knows the scheme and, after his solid play down the stretch last year, is an ideal bridge quarterback. Mendoza is a winner. It wouldn’t be unprecedented for the rookie to shine during camp, win the starting gig, go on a heater and pull his team along for the ride.
"The defense significantly improved through free agency, and with the trade falling through, Maxx Crosby remains a difference-maker. It should be a much-improved group. The rookie corners will be key. If they can hold up in man coverage and give the pass rush time to get home, there are the makings of a solid core. Fourth-rounder Jermod McCoy could be the key, if he can stay healthy and bring his first-round upside to the secondary."
Patra is obviously still downplaying the Raiders' chances of taking the division crown, and it is hard to argue with him. This was the worst team in the league just a season ago, and it is difficult to flip that in just one offseason, especially with a few juggernauts in the AFC West standing in their way.
That said, upgrades at head coach, quarterback and all throughout the defense are pretty much the formula to turning things around in a hurry. If Kubiak is who he showed himself to be last year, Las Vegas will be instantly better. If Cousins can be serviceable, even better.
And the crux of the matter for the Silver and Black is how the rookies perform, but luckily, Spytek nabbed some budding young stars. Mendoza could easily come out of the gates hot and play well right away, and so could a number of others, like McCoy, Treydan Stukes, Zeke Masses and more.
Offseason additions like Quay Walker, Nakobe Dean, Kwity Paye and Taron Johnson should help this defense tremendously, not to mention Tyler Linderbaum on the offensive line. I don't have to convince Raider Nation that this organization had, by all accounts, a franchise-altering offseason.
Will that pay off immediately? Who knows, and probably not. But it is not hard to see that Las Vegas is trending in the right direction and getting all of the proper pieces in place. It is just a matter of when the turnaround happens, and there's no ruling out that it could be in 2026.
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