Draft Projection: 86th, 3rd Round<\/p>\n
I dove pretty heavily into this year\u2019s safety class<\/a>, and Clark stood out as the best pure free safety that the Raiders could get on Day 2, assuming Caleb Downs, Dillon Thieneman and Emmanuel McNeil-Warren come off the board on Thursday night. I\u2019m a fan of A.J. Haulcy<\/a>, too, but I think Haulcy is more of a versatile safety than a true backend defender, and I like the value of Clark at 67 more than the LSU product at 36. Plus, the former Horned Frog\u2019s 15 career interceptions<\/a> would help solve one of the secondary\u2019s biggest problems.<\/p>\n Nose Tackle: Darrell Jackson Jr.<\/p>\n Draft Projection: 80th, 3rd Round<\/p>\n There\u2019s no shortage of nose tackle options<\/a> in this year\u2019s draft class. Jackson doesn\u2019t have a ton of experience lining up over the center, but he\u2019s long (6-foot-5.5, 34.75-inch arms<\/a>) and strong to plug up gaps anywhere on the defensive line. Plus, the fact that he has the versatility to play several alignments could allow Rob Leonard to mix up the scheme and use a variety of fronts.<\/p>\n Wide Receiver: Germie Bernard<\/p>\n ATLANTA, GA – DECEMBER 06: Wide receiver Germie Bernard #5 of the Alabama Crimson Tide rushes the ball during the SEC Championship Game between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Alabama Crimson Tide on December 06, 2025, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga. (Photo by Jeffrey Vest\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) Icon Sportswire via Getty Images<\/p>\n Draft Projection: 59th, 2nd Round<\/p>\n To be honest, I wouldn\u2019t mind seeing the Raiders hold off on drafting a wide receiver next weekend and give Jack Bech an opportunity<\/a> to prove himself next season. However, the team has met with several wideouts throughout the draft process, and I won\u2019t argue that the position group lacks a proven talent. Meanwhile, Bernard seems like Klint Kubiak\u2019s type of receiver, with his ability to win from the slot or out wide and create yards after the catch. Plus, it helps that the Alabama product only had one drop this past season and four in his entire college career, per Pro Football Focus<\/a>.<\/p>\n Cornerback: Chandler Rivers<\/p>\n Draft Projection: 106th, 4th Round<\/p>\n I thought about putting D\u2019Angelo Ponds here because I love that guy\u2019s game, partially because I think he can seamlessly go back and forth between the perimeter and the slot. But that felt too chalky since Ponds has become a lot of people\u2019s \u201cguy\u201d. So, I\u2019ll pivot to Rivers, who is cut from the same cloth. The 5-foot-9.5, 185-pound corner\u2019s size may push him into a nickel-only role at the next level, but he has experience and a good track record of covering the boundary. Plus, the former Blue Devil is physical and earned a 70.8 PFF run defense grade<\/a> last season to help ease the transition inside.<\/p>\n Draft Projection: 156th, 5th Round<\/p>\n After free agency, guard isn\u2019t quite the draft need many thought it would be for Las Vegas. But it\u2019s not out of the question for the club to address the position next weekend, especially on Day 3. Stephens would be an excellent option in that range, partially because he\u2019s an effective zone-run blocker to be a good fit in Kubiak\u2019s offense. Also, the former Hawkeye caught my eye in pass protection during the Senior Bowl by beating Lee Hunter with a snat-and-trap technique several times throughout the week.<\/p>\n Offensive Tackle: Dametrious Crownover<\/p>\n Draft Projection: 94th, 3rd Round<\/p>\n Another standout in Mobile, it was hard to miss the 6-foot-7, 319-pound offensive tackle with 35\u215c-inch arms<\/a>. Crownover was one of the few edge protectors who did himself some favors during the All-Star game, going from ranking 356th on NMDD\u2019s board<\/a> before the event to 113th the week after it. He\u2019s continued to rise since then, and logged over 1,800 career snaps at right tackle (via PFF<\/a>) to give the Raiders another potential competitor for DJ Glaze and Charles Grant, if they want to add one.<\/p>\n Draft Projection: 143rd, 5th Round<\/p>\n Back-to-back Texas A&M prospects, it\u2019s hard to find many flaws with York on the field. He can play the run, earning PFF run defense grades<\/a> in the 70s in each of the last three seasons, and he finished 2025 with the fifth-best mark in coverage (90.8<\/a>) among FBS linebackers. However, the 5-foot-11, 226-pound backer significantly lacks NFL size. So, it\u2019s fair to question if York\u2019s numbers will transfer to the next level, but he\u2019s worth taking a flier on in the later rounds of the draft. That could make him an intriguing option for the Raiders, since the defense doesn\u2019t have a pressing need at linebacker after signing Nakobe Dean<\/a> and Quay Walker<\/a> in free agency. But Dean and Walker have battled injuries throughout their careers, so it wouldn\u2019t be a bad idea to use a pick on a third inside backer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When John Spytek meets with his scouting staff for the final time before the 2026 NFL draft, each…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":870844,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[7,2492,4242,49,48],"class_list":{"0":"post-870843","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-las-vegas-raiders-draft","10":"tag-las-vegas-raiders-roster","11":"tag-ncaa","12":"tag-ncaa-football"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116439400791690517","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/870843","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=870843"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/870843\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/870844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=870843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=870843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=870843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Germie](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/gettyimages-2249839776.jpg\"\/)
<\/a><\/p>\n