![\"Denzel](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/denzel-boston-washington-huskies.jpg\")
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(Photo by Steph Chambers\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
With many expecting the Las Vegas Raiders<\/a> to take former Indiana Hoosiers<\/a> QB Fernando Mendoza, their draft-making process really doesn\u2019t start until Day 2, and they have to decide which position and player they want in Round 2 if they don\u2019t trade back into the first round.<\/p>\n One of the directions that the Silver and Black could take in the second or perhaps trading back into Round 1 is for a wideout to potentially pair with Mendoza. There are several options late in the first round and if one falls into Round 2. If Las Vegas decides to go with a receiver, it will be interesting to see which player they want to target. <\/p>\n Nonetheless, Bleacher Report\u2019s Alex Ballentine states that the Raiders should avoid drafting former Washington Huskies<\/a> star Denzel Boston.<\/p>\n \u201cDenzel Boston\u00a0figures to be a name who could be in the mix. He\u2019s ranked 30th on our big board and seventh among receivers,\u201d Ballentine wrote in his April 19 article<\/a>. \u201cBut the 6\u20194 \u201c, 212-pounder is not a separator. B\/R scout Dame Parson praised Boston for his contested catch ability, but would like to see more from him as a route runner\u2026 <\/p>\n \u201cThe Raiders already have a downfield contested catch threat in Brock Bowers. That\u2019s also the calling card for Jack Bech if he turns the corner as a prospect. If the Raiders are going to target a receiver for Mendoza they would be better off targeting a more diverse receiver like\u00a0Omar Cooper Jr.\u201d<\/p>\n Raiders Told to Trade Up for Denzel Boston<\/p>\n Meanwhile, ESPN NFL<\/a> analyst Mina Kimes feels differently than Ballentine as she notes that the Raiders should move back into the first round to ensure that they land Boston and don\u2019t wait to see if he falls in to the second round.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019ve got a big guy who catches everything, do we stop liking that in the NFL? Which brings me to the team that I want to take [Boston],\u201d Kimes said in an\u00a0April 9 video from \u201cThe Mina Kimes Show featuring Lenny.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0\u201cI want the Las Vegas Raiders to trade back into the first round and get Fernando Mendoza the X receiver he deserves.<\/p>\n \u201cThe best throw in Fernando Mendoza\u2019s arsenal is that beautiful back-shoulder ball that\u2019s on the money. He needs a big-bodied receiver who catches everything. It\u2019s such a missing component right now in their offense.\u201d<\/p>\n Last season for the Huskies,\u00a0Boston posted an 87.7 overall PFF grade<\/a>, ranking 14th among 679 qualified wide receivers. His 86.6 receiving grade also stood out, placing him 25th among the same group. <\/p>\n Moreover, he finished the year with 56 catches on 86 targets for 755 yards and 10 touchdowns, averaging 13.5 yards per reception.<\/p>\n Las Vegas Urged to Draft a Wideout on Day 2<\/p>\n Meanwhile, The Athletic\u2019s Dane Brugler believes the Silver and Black need to reunite Mendoza with his former college teammate by selecting Elijah Sarratt on Day 2.<\/p>\n \u201cI really like the idea of a young quarterback having familiarity with his favorite receiver at the college level,\u201c\u00a0Brugler said during an April 15 appearance on Raider Nation Radio<\/a>. \u201cThe chemistry they had, you see those back-shoulder throws, you see all the timing routes, is so impressive.<\/p>\n \u201cThe idea of introducing that to an\u00a0NFL\u00a0offense, whether he\u2019s a big slot or if he plays on the outside, I think that\u2019s what makes your wide receiver room better, regardless of who\u2019s at quarterback. Especially when Mendoza\u2019s in there.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tEduardo Razo<\/a> Eduardo Razo is a sports writer for Heavy.com, covering the NFL, MLB, and college football. He has previously covered the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB for NBC Sports Washington and NBC Sports Bay Area & California, and has freelanced for PSG Talk, covering Paris Saint-Germain. He also worked as an editor at Athlon Sports, focusing on MLB and the NFL. More about Eduardo Razo<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Raiders\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty (Photo by Steph Chambers\/Getty Images) With many expecting the Las Vegas Raiders to take former Indiana Hoosiers…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":870519,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2065],"tags":[7,1744,393,2455,2454,6,525],"class_list":{"0":"post-870518","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-las-vegas-raiders","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-las-vegas","10":"tag-las-vegas-raiders","11":"tag-lasvegas","12":"tag-lasvegasraiders","13":"tag-nfl","14":"tag-raiders"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116436239857584228","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/870518","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=870518"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/870518\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/870519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=870518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=870518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=870518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}