dhaalling'S MOCK DRAFT

dhaalling'S MOCK DRAFT
RUN ON FEB 8, 2026

Mendoza

  • dhaalling DRAFTING FOR THE
    Raiders
Draft Selections
Fernando Mendoza Head Shot
PICK: 5 RND: 1 (LV)
Fernando Mendoza
QB Indiana
Arvell Reese Head Shot
PICK: 18 RND: 1 (LV)
Arvell Reese
LB Ohio State
Sonny Styles Head Shot
PICK: 24 RND: 1 (LV)
Sonny Styles
LB Ohio State
Colton Hood Head Shot
PICK: 25 RND: 1 (LV)
Colton Hood
CB Tennessee
Dontay Corleone Head Shot
PICK: 32 RND: 1 (LV)
Dontay Corleone
DT Cincinnati
Emmanuel Pregnon Head Shot
PICK: 36 RND: 2 (LV)
Emmanuel Pregnon
OG Oregon
Caleb Banks Head Shot
PICK: 57 RND: 2 (LV)
Caleb Banks
DL Florida
Monroe Freeling Head Shot
PICK: 64 RND: 2 (LV)
Monroe Freeling
OT Georgia
Malachi Fields Head Shot
PICK: 67 RND: 3 (LV)
Malachi Fields
WR Notre Dame
D'Angelo Ponds Head Shot
PICK: 102 RND: 4 (LV)
D'Angelo Ponds
CB Indiana
Bishop Fitzgerald Head Shot
PICK: 107 RND: 4 (LV)
Bishop Fitzgerald
S USC
Jalon Kilgore Head Shot
PICK: 117 RND: 4 (LV)
Jalon Kilgore
S South Carolina
Kyle Louis Head Shot
PICK: 134 RND: 4 (LV)
Kyle Louis
LB Pittsburgh
Bud Clark Head Shot
PICK: 174 RND: 5 (LV)
Bud Clark
S TCU
Taylen Green Head Shot
PICK: 180 RND: 6 (LV)
Taylen Green
QB Arkansas
Trey Zuhn III Head Shot
PICK: 183 RND: 6 (LV)
Trey Zuhn III
OT Texas A&M
Keyron Crawford Head Shot
PICK: 219 RND: 7 (LV)
Keyron Crawford
DE Auburn
Draft Picks Received
Fernando Mendoza Head Shot
PICK: 5 RND: 1 (NYG)
Fernando Mendoza
QB Indiana
Arvell Reese Head Shot
PICK: 18 RND: 1 (MIN)
Arvell Reese
LB Ohio State
Sonny Styles Head Shot
PICK: 24 RND: 1 (CLE)
Sonny Styles
LB Ohio State
Colton Hood Head Shot
PICK: 25 RND: 1 (CHI)
Colton Hood
CB Tennessee
Dontay Corleone Head Shot
PICK: 32 RND: 1 (SEA)
Dontay Corleone
DT Cincinnati
Caleb Banks Head Shot
PICK: 57 RND: 2 (CHI)
Caleb Banks
DL Florida
Monroe Freeling Head Shot
PICK: 64 RND: 2 (SEA)
Monroe Freeling
OT Georgia
Bishop Fitzgerald Head Shot
PICK: 107 RND: 4 (CLE)
Bishop Fitzgerald
S USC
No Pick Head Shot
PICK: RND: 3 (DAL)
NEXT YEAR (2027)
 
No Pick Head Shot
PICK: RND: 6 (CLE)
NEXT YEAR (2027)
 
Draft Picks Traded
Rueben Bain Jr. Head Shot
PICK: 1 RND: 1 (NYJ)
Rueben Bain Jr.
DE-EDGE Miami
No Pick Head Shot
PICK: RND: 1 (ARI)
NEXT YEAR (2027)
 
No Pick Head Shot
PICK: RND: 2 (ARI)
NEXT YEAR (2027)
 
Players Gained
Head Shot
Jerome Baker
LB
Head Shot
Brian Burns
LB
Head Shot
Christian Darrisaw
OT
Head Shot
Rome Odunze
WR
Head Shot
Byron Young
LB
Players traded away
Head Shot
Geno Smith
QB
Head Shot
Maxx Crosby
DE
Draft Grade — Raiders
Overall C-
ValueB NeedB TradesF FutureD
The Raiders found their guy under center in Mendoza: C-.

The Raiders spent the pick that matters most on Fernando Mendoza, and a roster that has been waiting on a passer can start to take shape. Fine in stretches, shaky in others: a C-.

The Freeling reach is the anchor dragging on the value grade. They lost the exchange badly enough to drag the whole class down.

It is not that Styles is a bad player; it is that the Raiders had louder needs to answer first. The Green pick is the one they will point to when this weekend is judged.

Leaving running back unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall.

It nets out as a middle-of-the-pack haul that neither helps nor hurts much.

Pick Analysis
Pick5 Rnd1 Fernando Mendoza
In No. 5 they get the arm they will build around. A real need, handled.
Pick18 Rnd1 Arvell Reese
In slot 18 they get a sideline-to-sideline linebacker at a price that makes it sweeter. More want than need.
Pick24 Rnd1 Sonny Styles
They zigged when the board said zag, taking Sonny Styles at linebacker with running back and tight end open.
Pick25 Rnd1 Colton Hood
In pick No. 25 they get a potential shutdown corner at fair value. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
Pick32 Rnd1 Dontay Corleone
Dontay Corleone in the 32nd overall pick is fair value, right on his grade. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Pick36 Rnd2 Emmanuel Pregnon
A market-rate offensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Emmanuel Pregnon. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Pick57 Rnd2 Caleb Banks
Caleb Banks slid further than he should have, and the 57th pick is lovely value for the interior defensive lineman. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Pick64 Rnd2 Monroe Freeling
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Monroe Freeling. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Pick67 Rnd3 Malachi Fields
Malachi Fields at pick 67 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Pick102 Rnd4 D'Angelo Ponds
By-the-book stuff, D'Angelo Ponds at No. 102 squarely in line with his ranking. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Pick107 Rnd4 Bishop Fitzgerald
Fair-plus on Bishop Fitzgerald, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
Pick117 Rnd4 Jalon Kilgore
The needs board was loud and they turned it down, spending the Round 4 slot on Jalon Kilgore with running back and tight end unsolved.
Pick134 Rnd4 Kyle Louis
The eyebrow-raiser of the weekend. They went linebacker with Kyle Louis while clear needs at running back and tight end sat open.
Pick174 Rnd5 Bud Clark
Bud Clark at slot 174 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
Pick180 Rnd6 Taylen Green
Taylen Green slipping to the 180th pick is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. It fills a real need, too.
Pick183 Rnd6 Trey Zuhn III
They paid up for Trey Zuhn III at pick No. 183 when waiting would have done the job. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Pick219 Rnd7 Keyron Crawford
Keyron Crawford in the 219th overall pick is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.