1 Underrated Aspect That Will Define the 2026 Raiders

The Las Vegas Raiders' front office has spent the past few months putting their money where their mouth is, figuratively and literally. Las Vegas is in the early stages of rebuilding a roster that is recovering from no shortage of bad personnel moves in recent years.

Those failed moves led to the bottoming out of the roster in the 2024 and 2025 seasons, respectively. Under Raiders general manager John Spytek and head coach Klint Kubiak, Las Vegas has already gutted the roster that has lost nearly 30 games in the past two seasons combined.

Opportunities Abound in Las Vegas

The early days of Kubiak's tenure with the Raiders will be defined by the ability of he and his coaching staff's ability to get the most out of the players they have been given. Regardless of how good those players may or may not be perceived to be. Development will be critical under Kubiak.

During training camp, Las Vegas gave legitimate opportunities to players of all experience levels and backgrounds. This allowed the top talent to show itself naturally and the coaching staff to base their roster decisions on their assessment. It has led to a tangibly improved roster overall.

Players Already Making the Most Out of Their Opportunity

Aug 27, 2026; Paradise, Nevada, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Adrian Martinez (4) looks to throw a pass against Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Patrick Johnson (93) during the third quarter at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Las Vegas' coaching staff allowed the players on the field to earn their roster spots this offseason. Several players are already exceeding expectations and are poised for more opportunities in the regular season. Multiple players unexpectedly rose through the ranks during camp.

These include Hezekiah Masses, Treydan Stukes, Spencer Burford, among others. Another player on that list is defensive end Patrick Johnson, who paired a solid training camp with multiple impressive preseason performances. Spytek recently shared his thoughts on the budding defender.

"I'll give some respect and some props to Patrick Johnson. This is a guy that we signed on the eve of training camp, like, literally the eve of training camp, and credit to our pro department for setting up that workout and bringing quality guys in like him,” Spytek said following cutdown day.

“He had followed Patrick for many years with his career in Philadelphia and respected the kind of player, teammate, and special teams player he is. But every day he showed up and worked, and he got better and better. And you go to the last preseason game against the [San Francisco] 49ers, and it's a make-or-break game for a lot of guys, and who makes the first tackle on the first kickoff is Patrick Johnson."

Johnson is just one notable example of how real the opportunities Kubiak's staff presented to their players. He is also an example of the fact that anyone who is producing on the field will get more opportunities to do so. It is that simple under Kubiak and his coaching staff.

That has not always been the case in prior years, which partially led to them assembling one of the league's worst rosters over the past three seasons. Now under new leadership, Las Vegas has begun taking concrete steps to build a roster capable of competing weekly.

Las Vegas will need the next few offseasons to fully build out their roster, as one season is not nearly enough to dig out of the hole years of ill-advised moves created. However, this offseason was unquestionably a solid start towards doing so. Until then, Kubiak must work with what he has.

To give the team the best chance to win, Kubiak's staff must continue to let the players on the field dictate depth chart decisions. This will require giving players in reserve roles on the depth chart legitimate playing time in essentially the first season of a rebuild.

Players must earn playing time, which always starts in practice. However, after a season of watching some of the best young talent ride the bench behind veterans, taking the opposite approach and supplying further opportunities on game days will only help those inexperienced players grow.

It will also give them the experience many of them do not currently have. The only way to eliminate experience as an issue is to give inexperienced players a chance to get that experience on Sundays. Only so much can be learned on the practice field.

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