Raiders' Offseason Moves Confirm Their Due Diligence

The Las Vegas Raiders have had one of the best offseasons, collectively, of any team in the National Football League. Las Vegas entered the offseason in need of many, many things, but it has done a solid job of eliminating many of those needs via free agency and the NFL Draft.

Raiders' Moves

Not only did the Raiders make plenty of moves this offseason, but they also made moves that made sense. They did not make moves for the sake of making moves. Each roster move Las Vegas' front office has made this offseason has made sense and confirmed how detailed they are as a unit.

This was especially the case with their draft haul. Las Vegas' roster is much improved from where it has been for most of the past few seasons. That is because of the hard work of the Raiders' scouting department and the front office's ability to land the players they did.

Las Vegas' draft haul still must prove they were the right selections by having productive careers. However, as it stands, the Raiders have a group of draftees they believe in, and rightfully so. The Raiders' 10 selections in the draft confirmed just how tight a ship Spytek and the Raiders run.

Few of the Raiders' draft moves confirmed this more than their additions of safeties Treydan Stukes and Dalton Johnson. The addition of a first-round talent in the second round, in Stukes, and his teammate, Johnson, were commendable moves by the Raiders' front office.

“We were really coming up kind of around the same time, I had gotten a little bit more snaps, and then he started coming up in that spring, and that's kind of when we really dove in together,” Stukes said when explaining the progression of his relationship with Johnson on and off the field while they played together at Arizona.

“I think when he says old head tendencies, I think he just means because I don't do anything, I just be at home and just watching tape and stuff. So, we just found a routine that worked for us, and we found ways to keep getting better in all aspects of our game. So, yeah, no it's been super good for both him and I, for sure."

Raiders' Due Diligence

The Raiders could soon have to turn to both Stukes and Johnson. After the 2026 season, Las Vegas may be in need of two starting safeties, as Isaiah Pola-Mao and Jeremy Chinn are set to become free agents after the season. Although the Raiders could keep one or both, they could lose one or both.

Regardless of which happens, the Raiders will be prepared with two young safeties they had spent the 2026 season developing. Then, Las Vegas would be betting on Stukes and Johnson's familiarity with each other and their ability to develop under Klint Kubiak's coaching staff.

“We got to a point playing at Arizona, where I didn't have to say anything. We had been in the same defense for a couple years, and I could just look over and know he knows exactly what I'm talking about,” Stukes said.

“So, now we're speaking a different language, but it's football at the end of the day, and I know exactly how he operates. And we've been sitting in each other's hotel rooms, going over the tape and stuff. So, we're going to get it right, and we're going to make sure that we bring our best every day."

As the Raiders move into a new era, and they hope, a new brand of football, the development of Stukes and Johnson will be worth keeping an eye on.

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