How the Raiders Rebuild Can Play Out This Offseason

The Las Vegas Raiders were one of the worst teams in the league by a lot of metrics. Their offense was putrid, and their defense gave up way too many explosive plays. It's no wonder that they only managed to win three games last season, and only one of them was by more than one score.

The Raiders have slowly been dwindling out of relevance, but 2025 was a new low for the team. I would argue the franchise saw a new low, with Raider Nation having close to nothing to root for on any given Sunday. What should the Raiders take away from their disastrous 2025 season in order to navigate their rebuild heading into 2026 skillfully?

Outlook on Their Rebuild

Feb 25, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Las Vegas Raiders general manager John Spytek speaks during the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Thomas Valentine writes for Pro Football Focus, and he wrote an article identifying three contenders and three teams that will be rebuilding next season. The Raiders are far from competing in their current iteration, but that doesn't mean they don't have the right pieces in play for that to happen in a couple of seasons.

"The 2025 season was one to forget. The Raiders finished 3–14 and parted ways with head coach Pete Carroll after just one year. The defense posted a league-worst 49.2 PFF grade, while the offensive line ranked bottom-five in both pass-blocking and run-blocking grades", said Valentine.

In hindsight, it makes sense why the Pete Carroll hiring never panned out for the Raiders. He had to come out of retirement in order to take on the job, and I believe he was hired based on name value alone. Carroll still has some value as a head coach, but clearly, he's not prepared to handle a team like the Raiders.

They had expectations of a playoff berth because of what people assumed he was going to bring to the team, but he arguably made their team worse. His insistence on starting Geno Smith when any other franchise would've benched him mere weeks into his turbulent season shows how out of touch Carroll was with his team and the NFL as a whole.

Dec 28, 2025; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith (7) throws in the third quarter against the New York Giants at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

If there's one thing that Raider Nation should be grateful to both Smith and Carroll is that if it weren't for them, they never would've got the chance to draft Fernando Mendoza. Looking at it optimistically, this was the best-case scenario for the Raiders. They got the first overall pick in a draft class where there is no other player who's deserving to be selected there but Mendoza.

It should be a no-brainer for the Raiders to select Mendoza with the first overall pick, considering it's one of their biggest needs in the offseason. Smith will likely get cut to save them some money, and their only other option is Aidan O'Connell.

Indiana's Fernando Mendoza (15) smiles as he celebrates after the College Football Playoff National Championship college football game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens on Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. | Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"Like several teams at the bottom of the standings, Las Vegas is dealing with a significant talent gap. Even if Mendoza becomes the long-term answer at quarterback, the rebuild won’t be immediate. Carroll was brought in to accelerate a turnaround and reshape a culture that has produced just five playoff appearances since 2000 — the most recent coming in 2021".

I don't believe this will be a situation where the rookie quarterback comes in and leads them to a playoff appearance. An increase in wins is expected, but I wouldn't be surprised if this Raiders team is picking in the top ten of next year's draft as well. This will undoubtedly be a multi-year rebuild, one where they need to hit in the draft and offseason acquisitions at a high rate.

"That vision never materialized. Now, former Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, fresh off a Super Bowl victory, takes on the challenge. Notably, Kubiak helped maximize a Seahawks offensive line that wasn’t considered elite on paper. The question now is whether he can replicate that success in Las Vegas while the roster continues to take shape.

I believe Klint Kubiak will change their offense for the better, but I won't be surprised if his first season as their head coach doesn't result in an immediate turnaround either. I hope he understands that when he took this job, it may be a couple of years before he's on a path to another Super Bowl.

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