1 Thing Raiders Cannot Afford in NFL Draft
The Las Vegas Raiders have shown this offseason that they have a well-thought-out plan to rebuild their roster. They have impressively addressed multiple position groups. Other position groups, not so much. The NFL Draft allows them to change that.
What Raiders Cannot Afford
Luxury picks! The Raiders cannot afford luxury picks. Some felt drafting a running back with the No. 6 pick in last season's draft was a luxury pick. However, Las Vegas' ground game was so bad, and Ashton Jeanty is such a talent that the move could easily be argued as a smart one.
As they try to rebuild their roster, they are not in a position to make more luxury picks. Drafting a wide receiver with a second-round pick for the second consecutive season, after losing 14 games, is a luxury pick. This is especially the case after adding two wide receivers in free agency this offseason.
Drafting a defensive tackle in the second round when their group of cornerbacks is one of the worst in the National Football League is a luxury pick. The Raiders could still make either of those moves, but they cannot make those moves and reasonably expect to compete at a high level in 2026.
The Raiders might be drafting a wide receiver in the second round for the second consecutive offseason, which is also a luxury pick given their plans to sit Fernando Mendoza to start his rookie season. Neither of the Raiders' two second-round receivers would work with Mendoza early on.
Kirk Cousins may not be around past 2026. The chemistry the rookie wide receiver would build would be with a quarterback they may play only a few games with. The Raiders could easily draft a cornerback or safety and actually get an instant contributor.
Las Vegas can, of course, still draft a wide receiver or defensive tackle in the second round, but that does not make it the right move or any less of a luxury pick. The Raiders have aggressively invested in their receivers and defensive line this offseason. They have not been as aggressive elsewhere.
Raiders' Tendencies
Elsewhere, as in cornerback and safety. The Raiders spent big money adding offensive linemen, receivers, linebackers, and defensive linemen. Although they traded for Taron Johnson, that is far from an aggressive attempt at fixing one of the league's worst cornerback groups.
There has been no attempt this offseason to add depth to their group of safeties. The Raiders' front office has been too precise this offseason not to invest as heavily in their defensive backfield as they did every other position group. The draft is their last chance to address the positions.
The Raiders are one injury away from their current group of cornerbacks and safeties from having arguably the worst collection of talent at either group in the league. No exaggeration. If something happens to Eric Stokes, Jeremy Chinn, Darien Porter, or Isaiah Pola-Mao, the Raiders are doomed.
They have made too much progress at other places on the roster to overlook a glaring need at cornerback and safety that could potentially derail the entire season. In 2025, the Raiders saw what it was like to have one or two injuries ruin a season; they cannot let that happen again.
Luxury picks and failing to address obvious needs before they became debilitating are part of what has led to the Raiders losing nearly 40 games in the past three seasons. A wide receiver would be nice, but the team would not be any better immediately than they were before the pick.
The same cannot be said about cornerback and safety. If the Raiders were able to find a quality talent at either position group, that player would have the potential to make more of an impact, and do so sooner and easier than another second-round wide receiver.
The Raiders' front office and coaching staff have been proven pretty true to their words multiple times this offseason.
After Raiders general manager John Spytek and head coach Klint Kubiak both individually acknowledged their desire not to have a true No. 1 wide receiver, drafting a wide receiver in the second round for a second consecutive season after paying Jalen Nailor would make no sense at all.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/raiders/onsi as 1 Thing Raiders Cannot Afford in NFL Draft.
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This story was originally published April 23, 2026 at 4:30 AM.