Silver And Black Pride
While it’s only December and the Las Vegas Raiders have a Week 14 matchup against the Denver Broncos on Sunday, it might as well be the offseason in Las Vegas, seeing as the Raiders have nothing to play for over the next five weeks. That makes the 2026 NFL draft and free agency the focus for this week’s mailbag.
Q: Should the Raiders’ 2026 draft strategy be focused on 2027, i.e., trading back for 2027 picks? From all I have read thus far, 2026 is not the year to be quarterback hunting, but 2027 is shaping up to be perhaps the best year since 1983. Thoughts?
A: I disagree that this year’s quarterback class is as bad as some are making it out to be. While there may not be an elite talent like a Patrick Mahomes/Josh Allen/Joe Burrow-type of prospect, I think guys like Fernando Mendoza, Dante Moore and Ty Simpson can be quality starters in the NFL and are worth using a first-round pick on.
Also, I’m not a fan of the ‘holdout for next year’s class’ philosophy when it comes to quarterbacks, because so much can change in a year when it comes to that position. Arch Manning and LaNorris Sellers are good examples from this season of how the perception of a prospect can change, as those two were expected to be competing for the No. 1 overall pick but are now viewed by many as guys who should go back to school. That’s in addition to having no idea what the 2027 draft order looks like, and winning as few as four or five games could throw off the entire strategy.
In other words, if there’s a quarterback that the Raiders like this year, just take him and go from there. The position is too important to get cute and risk playing yourself.
That being said, I do like where your head is at if there isn’t a QB that the front office likes or the team falls out of range to get one. I’ve been saying for a while that Las Vegas is looking at a multi-year rebuild, so loading up on picks wouldn’t be a bad idea. It just wouldn’t be the strategy I’d use if the Silver and Black end up with a top-three pick, which it looks like they will.
Q: It’s pretty slim pickings after those four. That’s pretty normal since there have only been five drafts in NFL history (1983, 1999, 2018, 2021 and 2024) that have had five or more quarterbacks taken in round one. Manning could be a first-rounder since he’s played better in the second half of the season, but I think he’s going back to school. Cincinnati’s Brendan Sorsby was getting some hype around the halfway point of the season, but he hasn’t been as sharp down the stretch for me to say he’s a Day 1 talent.
Building on the previous question, if Mendoza is the only big name to declare for the draft,...
