2026 NFL offseason preview: Las Vegas Raiders can draft QB1, but that's just the start of the rebuild
The NFL offseason has begun, and Yahoo Sports is previewing the coming months for all 32 teams, from free agency through the draft and more.
AFC East: Bills | Dolphins | Patriots | Jets
AFC North:Ravens | Bengals | Browns | Steelers
AFC South: Texans | Colts | Jaguars | Titans
AFC West: Broncos | Chiefs | Raiders | Chargers
NFC East:Cowboys | Giants | Eagles | Commanders
NFC North: Bears | Lions | Packers | Vikings
NFC South:Falcons | Panthers | Saints | Buccaneers
NFC West:Cardinals | Rams | 49ers | Seahawks
2025 season record: 3-14 (u 6.5 wins), fourth in AFC West, missed playoffs, 30th in DVOA
OverviewBy hiring Pete Carroll, the entire idea behind the 2025 Raiders centered on having a well-coached team that raised the floor of the talent on the roster. It was immediately apparent that would not be the case. The Raiders were not just bad, they were sloppy. A poor offensive line derailed a run game that featured No. 6 overall draft pick Ashton Jeanty. Geno Smith, an offseason trade acquisition, significantly regressed from his Seattle peak. Offensive coordinator Chip Kelly did little to cover up deficiencies and was fired before the season ended. The Raiders had the highest rate of three-and-outs in the league, on 42% of their drives.
Las Vegas finished 14th in defensive DVOA but any improvement on that side of the ball or developments from players, such as rookie corner Darien Porter, weren't nearly enough to make up for all of the shortcomings elsewhere. This team had the third-worst point differential and the worst time of possession differential in the league.
Now the Raiders have the first overall pick of the 2026 NFL Draft and will be looking for a new head coach with Carroll one-and-done, staring down a complete rebuild the franchise tried to avoid with last offseason's moves.
Cap/cuts outlookAccording to Over The Cap, the Raiders have just under $75 million in effective salary cap space, the third-most in the league. They would free up another $8 million by releasing Geno Smith. However, Las Vegas has only 36 players under contract. A lot of that space will go toward bringing in depth to fill out the roster, as there are only so many good players available in free agency who would immediately help turn the team around.
If the new vision of the Raiders does not align with star pass rusher Maxx Crosby, the team would open up another $30 million of cap space and add some significant draft capital with a trade.
Key pending free agentsEdge Malcolm Koonce
K Daniel Carlson
CB Eric Stokes
OL Dylan Parham
Koonce signed a one-year deal last offseason, coming off a torn ACL. After a slow start, he started to turn around and show his promise over the second half of the season. His 13 pressures over the final three weeks tied for 13th among all defenders. Stokes and Parham were bright spots in otherwise disappointing units. Stokes finished fourth among cornerbacks in adjusted yards allowed per coverage snap. Parham was 17th in pass block win rate among interior linemen, per ESPN.
Positional needsOffensive line
Linebacker
Wide receiver
The Raiders were 31st in yards allowed before contact per carry on running back attempts. Ashton Jeanty was hit within a yard of the line of scrimmage on 54.1% of his attempts, the third-highest rate among running backs with at least 100 carries. Outside of Kolton Miller, the Raiders could use an upgrade anywhere along the line.
If there was a glaring weakness on the defense, it was at linebacker. Devin White made a high volume of tackles on a one-year deal, but that's partly because of how often the defense was on the field. White was also a liability in coverage. The Raiders were 29th in DVOA on passes to the short middle part of the field.
Tre Tucker was on the field for 97% of the Raiders' dropbacks, the highest rate for any player in the league. That's not ideal for an NFL passing game without much else behind it. After the trade of Jakobi Meyers to the Jaguars, the Raiders tried to give rookies Dont'e Thornton Jr. and Jack Bech bigger roles, but neither really clicked.
2026 NFL Draft picks1st round, pick No. 1
2nd round
3d round
4th round
4th round (MIN)
4th round (projected compensatory)
5th round (projected compensatory)
6th round 6th round (NYJ)
7th round
Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana
The Raiders have the No. 1 overall pick and need a quarterback. This is as simple and clean a fit as there will be the entire draft. Mendoza is accurate with strong arm talent, he can operate well from the pocket, he has a high football IQ and he's a good enough athlete to keep plays alive under duress. This should be the Raiders' guy.
What could move the fantasy needle in 2026?Nail the offensive architect
There were many problems with the 2025 Las Vegas Raiders. Their biggest flaw was the lack of cohesive vision between the front office and coaching staff. Frankly, I don't even think the entire coaching group - namely Pete Carroll and Chip Kelly - shared the same view of what the plan should be for the offense. The Raiders have cleaned out the staff. Now, it will be up to Tom Brady and his handpicked GM John Spytek to continue building a roster that has some young talent in the skill positions spots on offense that the prior staff didn't maximize. The most important box to check is that they identify the correct offensive architect to lead the coaching staff and develop the eventual No. 1 overall pick at quarterback. - Matt Harmon
Betting nuggetThe Raiders (3-14) earned the No. 1 pick with the worst record in the NFL, although Las Vegas did at least go 8-9 against the spread for bettors. - Ben Fawkes