John Spytek, Raiders Are Ready for the NFL Draft

With the NFL Draft right around the corner, the Las Vegas Raiders are ready to take the next step.

Watch John Spytek Discuss More Below

The Raiders' Huge Choice

The Raiders have the No. 1 pick, and they are all but guaranteed to use that pick on quarterback Fernando Mendoza. They believe he is the quarterback who can help turn things around under head coach Klint Kubiak and with an improved roster. Soon, Mendoza to the Raiders will no longer be hypothetical.

After multiple disappointing seasons that largely stemmed from a poor roster, bad coaching, and underperforming quarterbacks, Las Vegas' front office knows just how critical the upcoming draft is. Mendoza, as well as the Raiders' additional nine draft picks, must pan out.

Las Vegas has lost nearly 30 games combined over the past two seasons. Their 3-14 campaign in 2025 secured the top pick in the NFL Draft for only the second time in the Raiders' long, storied history. Raiders owner Mark Davis refuses to be enamored with the pick.

"Having the first pick in the draft is exciting because we kind of control the draft -- we get to make the decision on who we're gonna pick," Davis said at the league's Annual Meetings.

"But we've had that position before, and it didn't work out. So there's no magic bullet there, but it's a great opportunity to get a great player, whoever they decide to pick."

Raiders — Fernando Mendoza participates in Indiana University's Pro Day at Mellencamp Pavilion on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. | Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“I wrote a lot of things down that I learned in my first year, things that I screwed up in my first year. And we're not going to change too much, but we've got some new faces in the draft room with us this year, and we've got a fancy new draft room too that I think is state-of-the-art,” Spytek said.

“I think it's the best in the NFL, I don't think that's up for discussion. So, we've got to make sure that all the screens operate the right way."

The Raiders are headed into their second draft under Spytek's leadership. After Las Vegas' 2025 draft class had mixed results during their rookie seasons, the Raiders need a productive draft next week. The jury is still out on the 2025 class, but the Raiders must have a better draft haul this offseason.

Spytek noted that as the draft approaches, he and the rest of the Raiders' scouting team and front office members are pretty much set on their draft boards. Las Vegas has had plenty of time to figure out which set of players fits what it is trying to do under Kubiak's staff.

"I would say that the players are in generally the right spot, and we still have conversations to have. We have a medical meeting tonight, we have a security meeting tomorrow night,” Spytek said.

“Like Starkey [Brian Stark] said before, we're going to take all the information we can, and they're small tinkers at this point, but there still are discussions that we're having and information coming in that we have to factor into the total evaluation of the player."

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