Raiders' Biggest Draft Steals and Busts of Spytek Era

The Las Vegas Raiders will soon get a better idea of how good or bad their most recent draft class really was.

What Went Right

Many around the league are against a team with a bad roster selecting running backs high in the draft. Las Vegas did not care one bit about that and decided they could not pass up on a potentially great running back in Ashton Jeanty, especially after finishing last in the league in rushing in 2024-25.

The Raiders again finished with the fewest rushing yards of any team in the league, but that was not because of Jeanty, who broke the franchise's rookie scrimmage yards record. He did so behind arguably the worst offensive line in the league. An improved roster will only make him better.

The Raiders also found contributors in cornerback Darien Porter. He is a player they will rely on heavily in 2026. Las Vegas may have also found a starting offensive lineman in Caleb Rogers. Charles Grant, Tonka Hemingway, and JJ Pegues all showed signs that they will contribute moving forward.

The 2026 season will give a much better idea of how good the Raiders' 2025 draft class was. However, at the moment, it looks like it was a pretty solid class. A revamped coaching staff and roster should help the Raiders' 2025 draft class significantly.

What Went Wrong

The Raiders drafted Tommy Mellott in the sixth round of the draft. Most sixth-round picks come with sixth-round expectations, but Mellott was expected to at least make the team. Not only did he get cut, but the Raiders didn't even keep him on the practice squad.

The miss did not impact the Raiders much, but it was notable, as more was expected of Mellott. That was the only draft pick that was a miss, for now. All eyes will be on wide receivers Jack Bech and Dont'e Thornton to see how they pan out. Those are the only other two moves that are shaky.

Bech and Thornton were hindered by a bad coaching staff and an overall roster. The Raiders had one of the worst coaching staffs, offensive lines, and quarterbacks in the National Football League last season. Skill position players suffer the most when that is the case, and that is what happened.

Still, Bech and Thornton have a chance to make significant improvements this offseason and become solid contributors for the Raiders. Both players are talented, but need to find their footing under a new coaching staff, their second in their first two seasons in the league.

At the moment, it is fair to believe Bech and Thornton have made progress since the end of the 2025 season, but only what they do in meaningful games will matter. Bech, even more so than Thornton, must have a solid season.

Spytek recently explained how much more comfortable he is heading into his second season as a general manager.

"It's great having him [Brian Stark] here, and that's been a big help. But to rely on the people probably around me more than I felt like I did last year. I think I tried to do too much last year, not knowing everybody in the building, having my own vision that I was trying to teach to people about the way that we wanted to do it, how we wanted to build the kind of person we were looking for,” Spytek said at the team’s pre-draft press conference.

"And I think it's always important to really have great people around you and trust and empower them to do their jobs, to support you as well as they can. And it's really not about me, it's about the team and the Raiders and the best decisions. And I'm just very grateful to have a great group of people around me, as I acknowledge to start today."

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