Ranking the Raiders' Top 30 2026 Players: No. 10

The Las Vegas Raiders' front office almost left no stone unturned as they tried to upgrade their roster this offseason. Las Vegas finished the 2025 season in desperate need of talent across the board, and they wasted no time in addressing those needs.

Raiders' Moves Speak Volumes

Las Vegas had more money to spend than nearly any team in the league in free agency. They also had 10 draft picks in this year's NFL Draft. This allowed the Raiders to add at least one player to essentially every position group on the roster ahead of offseason workouts and training camp.

Yet, while those moves were notable, especially given their sweeping changes to their coaching staff, Las Vegas will still lean heavily on several of its returning players this upcoming season.

Over the next few weeks, we will rank the top 30 players on the Raiders' roster. There will be no rookies on this list, as it is impossible to make the list with zero regular-season snaps.

Ranking the Raiders' Top 30 2026 Players: No. 10, Punter, AJ Cole

Since entering the league in 2019, Cole has gone from undrafted to one of the best punters in the National Football League. Since entering the league in 2019, Cole has posted astounding numbers that solidify him as one of the best.

Since 2019, Cole has had the second-most (70) punts of 60 or more yards, only six away from being first during that span. He has also averaged nearly 49 yards per punt during that time frame, which ranks first in the league since he was drafted in 2019.

Punters may seem insignificant, as teams would much rather avoid using the position. However, a punter like Cole is much more than just a punter. Cole has been a weapon, especially for a Raiders team that has done its fair share of punting over the past few seasons.

After a dismal season for every unit last season, the Raiders hired Joe DeCamillis to lead the way for their special teams unit this season. After a poor start to the season led the Raiders to fire their special teams coordinator midseason in 2025, Cole looks forward to working with DeCamillis.

“I'm in my eighth season, and although I've had all these different head coaches, it's only my third special teams coordinator full-time. So yeah, it's been a blast to work with [Special Teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis]. I've really enjoyed it. I've really appreciated his insight into the things that he thinks I do well, the things he wants me to improve on, and the things that I think we can do together,” Cole said.

“He has such a unique approach. He's very creative. Like you said, he's very energetic, and I think that for special teams at this level, I think that's very, very critical, because the reality is most people don't grow up wanting to play left tackle on punt team. They want to be the starting linebacker. Most people don't grow up saying, 'Oh, I want to be the wing.'"

Cole enters his eighth season in the league tied for the second-most games with multiple punts downed inside the opponent's 20-yard line since 2019. He currently has the longest and the fifth-longest punts, respectively, in the Raiders' storied history.

Cole is tied for the fifth-longest punt in the NFL since 2000 and is tied for the second-most punts downed inside the opponents' 10-yard line since 2019. Still, Cole strives to outdo himself at the start of every season. Despite his many accolades, Cole continues to work like an undrafted free agent.

“Would say the biggest thing is I just have a violent case of imposter syndrome. I just don't think I stack up. I kick with other guys in the offseason constantly, and I'm always only remembering their good punts and then deleting their bad punts. And then, when I look back at my own session, I only remember my bad punts, and I forget all the good ones,” Cole said.

“So, if I have one bad punt in a day, in a game, that's the only one I remember. And so, I think part of it is I just think that I have a little bit of that that I have to kind of work around, and that's something that can potentially affect your confidence if you don't know how to properly manage it."

“And the other thing is, I don't think there's anything special about me. I think the reason that I've produced on the field the way I've produced is because of the work I've put in. It's because of the processes I have in place, and it's not like I have something different in my genetics that makes me predisposed to be better at punting, because I remember what it looked like when I started."

The upcoming season will be a crucial one for a Raiders team that has made wholesale changes across the board. Yet, for all the changes and additions Las Vegas made this offseason, there was no need to add another punter, as they have one of the best in the league already on the roster.

No team likes to trot their punter out onto the field, as it signals a stalled offensive drive. After all of the offensive talent the Raiders added to their coaching staff and roster, this will be even more so the case this upcoming season. However, punts are inevitable. It is a natural part of the game.

Although Las Vegas would rather not punt much this upcoming season and beyond, at least they know they have a dependable punter who can flip the field and potentially a game. Last season, the Raiders almost beat the Denver Broncos, who reached the AFC Championship.

Las Vegas held a Broncos team that averaged nearly 30 points per game entering their Thursday night matchup last season to just 10 points. They were able to do so largely because of the many impressive punts Cole landed, which kept them in a game they were thoroughly overmatched in.

Cole is one of the best players on the Raiders' roster and one of the best at what he does in the league.

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