{"id":871186,"date":"2026-04-21T13:04:24","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T13:04:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/871186\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T13:04:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T13:04:24","slug":"las-vegas-raiders-2026-nfl-mock-draft-our-7-round-predictions-for-all-10-picks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/871186\/","title":{"rendered":"Las Vegas Raiders 2026 NFL Mock Draft: Our 7-Round Predictions for All 10 Picks"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s one thing we know for certain about the 2026 NFL Draft: Fernando Mendoza is going to be a Las Vegas Raider before most of us finish our first drink Thursday night. Everything after that is where it gets interesting <\/a>\u2014 and where John Spytek gets his best shot at building something real with the most draft capital this franchise has had since 2007.<\/p>\n

Barring trades, here\u2019s my full 7-round Las Vegas Raiders 2026 NFL mock draft.<\/p>\n

Round 1, Pick 1 \u2014 Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana<\/p>\n

\"fernandoJan 19, 2026; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Miami Hurricanes in the fourth quarter during the College Football Playoff National Championship game at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

You already knew this. I already wrote about it. Moving on.<\/p>\n

Forty-one touchdowns, six interceptions, 72% completion rate, national champion. John Spytek isn\u2019t trading this pick unless someone offers him an entire franchise and a yacht. Raider Nation exhales for the first time in about a decade and then immediately starts arguing about when he should start. That\u2019s a Week 2 problem. Let\u2019s deal with the draft first.<\/p>\n

Related: Raiders Hire Mike Sullivan as Quarterbacks Coach to Develop Fernando Mendoza<\/a><\/p>\n

Round 2, Pick 36 \u2014 KC Concepcion, WR, Texas A&M<\/p>\n

\"KCMaria Lysaker-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

This is the one that matters most for what 2026 actually looks like.<\/p>\n

Concepcion put up 61 catches, 919 yards and nine touchdowns at Texas A&M last season in an offense that asked him to do a little bit of everything \u2014 and he delivered every time<\/a>. That\u2019s the key thing about him that gets lost in the highlights. It\u2019s not just production, it\u2019s the versatility. Klint Kubiak ran Jaxon Smith-Njigba all over the field in Seattle, motioning him, using him in jet sweeps, lining him up outside, in the slot, wherever. Concepcion fits that exact profile and maybe better than anyone else available in this draft.<\/p>\n

The Raiders had him in Henderson. There\u2019s smoke. If he\u2019s sitting there at 36, and he very well might be given how many teams in the back half of Round 1 are going to be chasing corners and pass rushers, Spytek won\u2019t need much convincing. One more thing \u2014 Mendoza played college football alongside Concepcion\u2019s Texas A&M teammate Omar Cooper Jr. at Indiana. He already understands that receiver type. Getting him a Concepcion is just smart roster building.<\/p>\n

“Growing up I was always underlooked, undervalued. I wasn’t the biggest name. It’s gonna feel like all of my hard work has finally paid off.”<\/p>\n

\u2014KC Concepcion on what it will mean to hear his name called in the NFL draft \ud83c\udfc8<\/p>\n

(via @RichEisenShow<\/a>) pic.twitter.com\/38AlO2bz2d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) April 20, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Round 3, Pick 67 \u2014 Kayden McDonald, DT, Ohio State<\/p>\n

\"KaydenAdam Cairns\/Columbus Dispatch \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Every draft preview you\u2019ve read in the last two weeks has been so locked in on Mendoza and wide receiver that the defensive tackle need has basically been an afterthought. It shouldn\u2019t be.<\/p>\n

McDonald is 6-foot-3 and 326 pounds and visited Henderson ahead of draft week<\/a>. He\u2019s not the most explosive interior player in this class, but he holds the point of attack, which is the first requirement for what Rob Leonard needs up front in his 3-4. Thomas Booker IV got re-signed in free agency and the room didn\u2019t get much else. That\u2019s not a defensive line, that\u2019s a prayer. McDonald at 67 is a good value and addresses a real problem. Peter Woods is the better prospect, but he\u2019s not making it to 67. McDonald is the next best fit. Some have him going around 48-50, so the Raiders may have to trade up to get him.<\/p>\n

Round 4, Pick 102 \u2014 Daylen Everette, CB, Georgia<\/p>\n

\"DaylenAyrton Breckenridge\/Clarion Ledger \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Taron Johnson, Eric Stokes, Darien Porter. Solid starting group. But depth in the secondary? There isn\u2019t much to speak of and in a division with Patrick Mahomes still running around doing Patrick Mahomes things, that\u2019s not a sustainable situation.<\/p>\n

Everette made the trip to Henderson before the draft. He\u2019s physical, he can play zone, and he profiles as the kind of corner Leonard\u2019s defense actually uses. He\u2019s not a guy who needs to be a shutdown corner, just a reliable one. The fourth round is the right neighborhood for a player with starter upside who needs NFL reps to unlock it. The Raiders are going to need two or three shots in the secondary this weekend. This is the first one.<\/p>\n

Round 4, Pick 117 \u2014 Caleb Lomu, OT, Utah<\/p>\n

\"CalebRob Gray-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Charles Grant is entering his sophomore NFL campaign in Las Vegas. DJ Glaze had a rough 2025. Kolton Miller isn\u2019t getting any younger. The offensive tackle situation behind the starters is the kind of thing that looks fine on paper in April and becomes a problem in November when someone gets hurt.<\/p>\n

Lomu is a technically polished pass protector from Utah who showed up in Jordan Reid\u2019s seven-round ESPN mock, going to Las Vegas at this exact spot<\/a>. There\u2019s clearly buzz here, and at 117, the value makes sense. Mendoza is going to take some hits early in his career \u2014 that\u2019s just how it goes for rookie quarterbacks. You want decent bodies around him, not guys who were available because nobody else wanted them.<\/p>\n

Round 4, Pick 134 \u2014 Kaelon Black, RB, Indiana<\/p>\n

\"KaelonVasha Hunt-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Nobody talks about Kaelon Black\u2019s pass protection. PFF does. They called him one of the best pass-protecting backs in the entire 2026 class. Yet the broader conversation glazes right over it because he\u2019s not a big-play back with highlight reel carries. In Kubiak\u2019s offense, where the running back is a genuine extension of the protection scheme, that skill matters more than it does almost anywhere else in the league.<\/p>\n

Black ran for 1,040 yards at 5.6 per carry behind Indiana\u2019s national championship line. He followed Curt Cignetti from James Madison to Bloomington and produced every time he was asked to. He\u2019s not Jeanty. Nobody in this draft is Jeanty. But late in the fourth round, getting a smart, physical, scheme-fit running back who can spell your franchise back and protect your franchise quarterback is a find, not a consolation prize.<\/p>\n

Round 5, Pick 175 \u2014 Jalon Kilgore, S, South Carolina<\/p>\n

\"Javon<\/p>\n

Spytek said it himself at his pre-draft presser: the safety room needs work. The Raiders carry four safeties on the roster, and none of them are difference-makers. That\u2019s fine for now, but it\u2019s not a long-term answer. Our Las Vegas Raiders 2026 NFL mock draft addresses this direction \u2014 and aggressively.<\/p>\n

Kilgore had five interceptions in 2024 at South Carolina. He\u2019s 6-2, 219 pounds, plays physically against the run and covers enough ground in coverage to be genuinely useful in what Leonard is building. Round 5 is a fine spot for a player who projects as a solid backup <\/a>with a real shot at becoming a starter if the depth chart stays unsettled. The Raiders need more than one safety out of this draft. This is the first.<\/p>\n

After Downs and Thieneman, South Carolina S Jalon Kilgore might have the highest ceiling in this safety class<\/p>\n

There\u2019s some projection involved (next tweet), but at 6\u20191, 210 with 4.4 speed and great ball production (8 INTs, 21 PBUs), he seems like a good bet #BuildingTheBoard<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/h8Ks7VY4Ib<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Steve Letizia (@CFCBears) April 20, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Round 6, Pick 185 \u2014 Germie Bernard, WR, Alabama<\/p>\n

\"GermieNelson Chenault-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Receiver depth is unglamorous work. Nobody writes the headline about the fourth receiver on the depth chart. But the difference between a receiver room with real depth and one without it shows up in the games where your starter gets banged up in the second quarter and you need someone to step in and not embarrass the quarterback.<\/p>\n

Bernard visited Henderson and has legitimate speed as a vertical threat<\/a>. At Alabama, he was inconsistent, which is how most Alabama receivers end up looking because the roster is so loaded that they can\u2019t all get consistent work. Round 6 is the right ask for a player with his profile. If Kubiak can develop him \u2014 and Kubiak turned a 33-year-old Cooper Kupp back into a functional receiver last year \u2014 this pick could look smart down the line.<\/p>\n

Round 6, Pick 208 \u2014 Jack Dingle, LB, Cincinnati<\/p>\n

\"Syndication:Kareem Elgazzar\/The Enquirer \/ USA TODAY NETWORK<\/p>\n

The linebacker room got upgraded in free agency with Nakobe Dean and Quay Walker<\/a>. This isn\u2019t about adding a starter. It\u2019s about finding someone who makes the roster because of what he does on special teams and earns his keep there while learning the defense.<\/p>\n

Dingle visited Henderson, he\u2019s got a motor, and he fits the profile of the late-round pick that coaches love because he does exactly what he\u2019s told and shows up every Sunday. Good teams have three or four of those guys. The Raiders are trying to become a good team.<\/p>\n

Round 7, Pick 219 \u2014 Michael Taaffe, S, Texas<\/p>\n

\"MichaelScott Wachter-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Two safeties in one draft is only excessive if your safety room is in good shape. Las Vegas\u2019 is not.<\/p>\n

Taaffe is the kind of prospect that doesn\u2019t wow you on paper \u2014 he\u2019s not the fastest, not the most athletic, doesn\u2019t have a standout trait that makes you circle his name on a big board. What he has is football intelligence, and he gets to the right place because he reads the offense, not because he outruns everybody. Jordan Reid had him going to New England late in his ESPN mock. He\u2019ll be there at 219. He\u2019s a Day 1 special teamer who could develop into something more. Round 7 is exactly where you find that guy.<\/p>\n

The Las Vegas Raiders 2026 NFL Mock Draft Bottom Line<\/p>\n

\"JohnCredit: Raiders.com<\/p>\n

Quarterback. Receiver. Defensive interior. Tackle depth. A running back who can actually protect the passer. Three cracks at the secondary. That\u2019s 10 picks with a purpose and a roster that looks meaningfully different coming out of Pittsburgh than it did going in.<\/p>\n

Not all of these hit. If every pick worked out, everybody would do this for a living. But Mendoza and Concepcion are developing together, McDonald is holding the interior, Black is keeping Jeanty fresh, and a secondary that has actual competition? That\u2019s a foundation worth building on. That\u2019s what this offseason was always supposed to be about.<\/p>\n

Come back Friday to see how our Las Vegas Raiders 2026 NFL mock draft stacks up against the actual result.<\/p>\n

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\t\tScott Gulbransen, a jack-of-all-trades in sports journalism, juggles his roles as an editor, NFL , MLB , Formula 1 … More about Scott Gulbransen<\/a><\/p>\n

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