Raiders' Rebuild Depends on This From Rookies
The Las Vegas Raiders' offseason has had many components. They have revamped their coaching staff and have taken the next step in their roster rebuild. The Raiders have added notable talent in each of the past two NFL Drafts, but altogether, this offseason has been the best in a while.
Raiders' Staff Right to Work
Las Vegas' offseason has seen several benchmarks come and go. Free agency and the draft were two of them. Their rookie minicamp was another, and more will come soon after. However, the Raiders have already begun installing head coach Klint Kubiak's scheme and approach.
The Raiders have had no wasted moves this offseason. Everything the Raiders' front office has done to its coaching staff and roster makes sense and is just what they needed. Now, the Raiders will get to work putting all of those new additions to work, in hopes of a smooth start to Kubiak's tenure.
Raiders' Woes
Las Vegas' offense has been among the league's worst over the past five seasons, mainly due to a lack of talent and poor coaching. Kubiak's hiring and the additions the Raiders made this season have allowed Las Vegas to quickly get to work under Kubiak and his coaching staff.
Even with the offseason coaching and roster changes, Las Vegas still has a long way to go. The Raiders are digging out of a hole that took years to create. Yet, they are clearly on the right track when it comes to revamping a roster.
The Raiders drafted offensive lineman Trey Zuhn in the third round. Zuhn was one of the best offensive linemen in college football in 2025. He recently noted how Kubiak and the Raiders' offensive coordinator, Andrew Janocko, have coached so far this offseason, given their limited time together.
"Super hands-on. Very detailed, extremely detailed. You do it right, and you do it until you do it right. So, yeah, extremely detailed. And I'm just excited to continue to get to work with them," Zuhn said after rookie minicamp.
Las Vegas' offseason moves have likely come to an end for the most part. That means it is essentially football season. The Raiders and other teams around the league have already begun the initial steps of a new season, taking the field for voluntary minicamps and then the rookie minicamp.
Raiders rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza may have been drafted with the No.1 overall pick in the NFL Draft, but Las Vegas' front office plans on taking their time with him. Still, Kubiak and company have already connected with Mendoza, the franchise's future.
"It felt good. It was good. It was good to be in the high altitude, get the plays down, the base, because you can be learning on a sheet of paper, but until you put pen to paper and application, and we have Coach [Andrew] Janocko, Coach [Klint] Kubiak," Mendoza said.
"For my case, Coach [Mike] Sullivan, repping it, getting on our butts about it, improving us, improving the entire offense every single day. It's been great, and from day one to day two, I think we saw a lot of improvement in everybody, including myself."
There is only so much any team cando in one offseason. The Raiders are at that point. That does not guarantee wins or that the 2026 season will realistically be more than a season with five or six wins. However, that is okay, as long as Las Vegas' roster takes a step forward as a whole.
It must be remembered that progress is relative. A lot of progress for the Raiders may not be much progress for another team, making this offseason a success already.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/raiders/onsi as Raiders' Rebuild Depends on This From Rookies.
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This story was originally published May 11, 2026 at 8:30 AM.