Las Vegas Raiders News

Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Jalen Nailor has a better opportunity than he ever had in Minnesota, but that does not automatically make him a dynasty buy. Nailor is already 27 and has never topped 29 catches or 444 receiving yards in a season, which matters for a player whose value is still built more on projection than proven volume. The Raiders did make a real commitment with a three-year deal that includes $23 million guaranteed, and the fit is interesting after he produced 57 catches, 858 yards, and 10 touchdowns over his last two seasons in Minnesota. He also reunites with Kirk Cousins in a wide receiver room where Tre Tucker is the top returning producer but not an untouchable target hog. Still, Brock Bowers should lead the passing game, Jack Bech and Dont'e Thornton Jr. are entering Year 2, and Malik Benson adds more speed. Sitting at WR66 on RotoBaller's board, Nailor is fine as a late redraft or best-ball swing. Dynasty managers should be careful paying like a breakout is already here.

Las Vegas Raiders running back Roman Hemby is not a redraft name to force into 2026 drafts, but he is at least worth filing away in deeper dynasty leagues. The 6-foot, 210-pound rookie went undrafted, then landed with a Raiders backfield that already has Ashton Jeanty locked into the lead role and fourth-rounder Mike Washington Jr. positioned for a real shot at No. 2 work. Hemby does bring something to the table. He rushed for 1,120 yards and seven touchdowns at Indiana last season, added 17 catches, and had a productive four-year run at Maryland before transferring. He also played with rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza, which does not guarantee anything but gives him some built-in familiarity if he sticks. The issue is roster math. Dylan Laube has special-teams value, Chris Collier is also competing for reps, and Hemby has no draft capital pushing him onto the field. He is a taxi-squad stash in deep dynasty formats, not a player redraft managers need to draft.

Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers should be the focal point of new head coach Klint Kubiak's offense in 2026, but Kubiak's deployment of two tight ends on the field at the same time could help Michael Mayer's production as the top TE backup, according to Sam Warren of The Athletic. Beyond Bowers and Mayer, Ian Thomas and Carter Runyan could battle for the TE3 job in training camp this summer. Mayer, who was taken in the second round (35th overall) in 2023 out of Notre Dame, caught a career-high 35 passes on 50 targets for 328 yards and only one touchdown in 13 games (12 starts) for the Raiders in 2025 in his third year in the league. He was on the TE streaming radar with Bowers missing some time with injuries last year, but in the end, Mayer's numbers left a lot to be desired. His ceiling will obviously be capped because of Bowers' presence, but he could threaten for even more production if Kubiak involves him more as a pass-catcher alongside Bowers. Mayer should go undrafted in standard 12-team leagues, but if Bowers misses more time with an injury in 2026, he'll be a priority waiver-wire pickup at the position.

The No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza, profiles as his new team's long-term answer under center. Mendoza had a dominant junior season at the University of Indiana in 2025, completing 72% of his pass attempts for 3,535 yards, 41 touchdowns, and six interceptions across 16 games. The 22-year-old also showed some ability to produce with his legs, recording 276 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. Currently, Mendoza appears to be entering his rookie training camp behind both Kirk Cousins and Aidan O'Connell on the Raiders' quarterback depth chart. However, Cousins is entering his age-38 season, and O'Connell has not shown anything more than quality backup quarterback production to this point in his career. Mendoza could easily emerge as the starter in Las Vegas early on in 2026. With a current average draft position of QB27, Mendoza may be undervalued in redraft formats.

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins has made a 15-year career out of rising to the situation around him. Rarely has he shown an ability to truly elevate an offense, but with the right pieces around him, he's fully capable of managing the game and providing steady production that has frequently translated to fantasy success. With a deep group of pass-catchers in Washington's pass-heavy offense, he was able to turn in multiple top-six fantasy seasons, and while throwing to Justin Jefferson in Minnesota, he rarely fell outside the QB1 range. With the Achilles injury he suffered in 2023 further limiting what was never the most dynamic physical skill set, Cousins' reliance on a clean pocket and early separation from his receivers has only grown more apparent in recent years. Unfortunately, as he attempts to hold off first overall pick Fernando Mendoza for as long as possible in what could be his final starting job with the Raiders, the offense in Vegas features few pieces to get excited about outside of All-Pro tight end Brock Bowers and 2025 first-round pick Ashton Jeanty. Cousins is well-positioned in a Klint Kubiak offense that just saw journeyman Sam Darnold finish as the QB13 a season ago, but without a weapon like Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba on the outside, and with the new face of the franchise already breathing down his neck, the soon-to-be 38-year-old does not project as a major fantasy contributor in 2026 and is RotoBaller's QB33.

Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers had a record-setting rookie year with 112 catches, 1,194 yards, and five touchdowns with quarterbacks Gardner Minshew and Aidan O'Connell throwing him the football. Last year was a disappointment, though, with Geno Smith running the offense and Bowers missing time with injuries. However, his catch rate stayed steady at 74% in both of his seasons, and his yards per reception went from only 10.7 to 10.6. The former 13th overall pick out of the University of Georgia was targeted slightly less last year, but with new head coach Klint Kubiak coming to town, Bowers' target rate should rise in Year 3. ESPN's Ben Solak suggests that Bowers will be a candidate to win Offensive Player of the Year. A TE has never won the award in NFL history, with Travis Kelce coming the closest in 2020. Not only does Bowers have elite pass-catching talent at the position with a bigger role in the offense expected in 2026, but the QB play in Vegas should be better between veteran Kirk Cousins and rookie Fernando Mendoza. There's a reason RotoBaller has Bowers ranked as the top fantasy TE for the upcoming season, even after a disappointing sophomore showing.

Las Vegas Raiders rookie sixth-rounder Malik Benson made the most of his organized team activities and minicamp opportunities this offseason, according to Levi Edwards of the team's official website. Edwards writes that Benson "could be a sneaky addition" to the receiving corps in 2026. He caught a handful of deep passes from all of the Raiders quarterbacks during portions of practice open to the media this spring, and he's a young pass-catcher to watch when training camp rolls around at the end of July. In his final collegiate season last year with the University of Oregon, Benson stepped up with 43 receptions for 719 yards and six touchdowns in 15 games played for the Ducks. The Raiders have one of the most wide-open WR groups in the NFL with training camp approaching, giving Benson an opportunity to carve out a role behind the likes of Tre Tucker, Jalen Nailor, and Jack Bech. He'll likely be competing with Dont'e Thornton for the WR4 role in Vegas in his first year in the NFL. Right now, Benson is only a deep sleeper for fantasy managers in dynasty/keeper formats.

Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Tre Tucker had the most productive season of his career in 2025, recording 57 catches for 696 yards and five touchdowns on 92 targets across 17 games. With star Raiders tight end Brock Bowers battling injury for most of the year and veteran wideout Jakobi Meyers being dealt at the trade deadline, Tucker took on a higher-volume role in his team's offense. Las Vegas added a pair of veteran wideouts in Jalen Nailor and Dareke Young in free agency, neither of whom profiles as a significantly high-volume target earner. Still, Bowers should be healthier in 2026, and young Raiders wideouts Jack Bech and Dont'e Thornton Jr. could take on larger roles as well. Even in his emergent campaign last season, Tucker averaged an underwhelming 1.19 yards per route run. In dynasty formats, managers could be wise to try to take advantage of a potential sell-high window on Tucker ahead of 2026.

A second-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Jack Bech struggled to produce as a rookie. Across 16 games (five starts), the 23-year-old recorded 20 catches for 224 yards and two touchdowns on 29 targets. In fairness to Bech, the offensive environment around him in Las Vegas was arguably the NFL's worst in 2025. Entering 2026, the Raiders have a new play-caller in Klint Kubiak and two new quarterbacks in Kirk Cousins and Fernando Mendoza. The team also made only modest additions to its wide receiver room in free agency, signing veterans Jalen Nailor and Dareke Young. As underwhelming as Bech's production as a rookie was, he should have another chance to make an impression in 2026 and a more competent supporting cast to help him reach his ceiling. Per Michael Canelo of Sports Illustrated, Bech has "already been making noise" at Raiders spring workouts. In dynasty formats, rebuilding dynasty managers may want to explore buy-low trades for Bech.

The sixth overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Las Vegas Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty entered his rookie season with plenty of fantasy hype. The 22-year-old volumed his way to a solid season, recording 1,321 scrimmage yards and 10 touchdowns on 321 touches across 17 games. However, he averaged just 3.7 yards per carry and finished as the RB16 by per-game PPR scoring. While Jeanty's lack of efficiency is a bit concerning, he was working within one of the worst offensive ecosystems in 2025. The Raiders enter 2026 with a new coaching staff, an overhauled offensive line, and hope at quarterback in the form of rookie signal-caller Fernando Mendoza. Jeanty proved as a rookie that he has a three-down skill set and can absorb a heavy workload. If the changes around him in Las Vegas lead to some more holes for him to run through, Jeanty could break out as a superstar in 2026. In any dynasty league where his value has dipped below high-end RB1 status, managers should look to buy low.

Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Dont'e Thornton Jr. was unable to find much success this past season. To be fair, the Raiders' offense was horrible as a unit, but Thornton barely showed up on the stat sheet. He finished the season with 10 receptions for 135 receiving yards and zero touchdowns in 13 games. The 24-year-old might've missed his opportunity with the Raiders adding some reinforcements this offseason. They signed Jalen Nailor and Dareke Young in free agency, while adding Malik Benson in the sixth round of this year's draft. Thornton could fall to fourth on the depth chart, which is not a good spot, given Brock Bowers eats a ton of targets at tight end as well. He's young enough to hold onto in dynasty leagues, but Thornton having a consistent role in 2026 seems unlikely.

A second-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Las Vegas Raiders' Michael Mayer showed promising flashes as a rookie, finishing the year as the team's most productive tight end. Any hopes of a true fantasy breakout were dashed, however, when the Raiders spent the 13th pick of the 2024 NFL Draft on generational prospect Brock Bowers, who has since proven worthy of the often overused label through his first two seasons in the league. In years past, there might have been very little fantasy value in a team's second tight end, but with the league trending toward more multi-tight end usage, and new head coach Klint Kubiak partly responsible for helping to lead that charge, Mayer remains an important dynasty hold. Potentially capable of providing the occasional standalone bye week or injury fill-in, Mayer's highest value remains as a handcuff to Bowers, now in a Kubiak system that saw AJ Barner finish as the TE9 or better six different times in 2025. With only one year remaining on his rookie contract, Mayer could hit free agency in 2027 at the age of 25, and with several paths in play to finding a more substantial role, RotoBaller's dynasty TE43 remains a worthy end-of-bench stash in all but the shallowest of leagues.

After earning first-team All-Pro recognition as a rookie in 2024, Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers (knee) put together an underwhelming sophomore campaign in 2025. Across 12 games (eight starts), the 23-year-old recorded 64 catches for 680 yards and seven touchdowns on 86 targets. However, injury was a major part of the story for Bowers. He attempted to play through a PCL injury that he suffered in Week 1 for most of the year before the Raiders finally shut him down and put him on Injured Reserve towards the end of the year. Entering 2026, Bowers is expected to be back to full health. He also remains the clear number one option in a Raiders passing game that should be improved following the offseason additions of rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza and new head coach/play-caller Klint Kubiak. Bowers profiles as an obvious bounce-back candidate in dynasty formats and should be prioritized as a buy-low target in any league where his value may have taken a hit.

While building an offense around the No. 1 overall pick that would eventually become quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the Las Vegas Raiders signed former Vikings wide receiver Jalen Nailor to a three-year, $35 million deal, and according to Raider Nation Radio host Q Myers, Nailor was precisely the player the team was targeting in free agency. In a disastrous 2025 season that saw primary receiver Jakobi Meyers dealt to the Jaguars and All-Pro tight end Brock Bowers miss five games and face limitations in several others, no Raiders player reached 700 receiving yards. Outside of Bowers and running back Ashton Jeanty, Nailor's most significant competition is likely to come from the 5'9", 185-pound Tre Tucker, who led the team with 90 targets while playing 17 games in 2025. While acknowledging the vast talent disparity, some around the organization believe Nailor will be asked to do many of the things Jaxon Smith-Njigba did during new head coach Klint Kubiak's time in Seattle. With a clear path to becoming the number one receiver in what could soon become a significantly improved offense, Nailor is potentially being slept on as RotoBaller's dynasty WR86 and could become one of the better values in the later rounds of 2026 dynasty startups.

Despite recording 1,285 scrimmage yards and seven touchdowns on 245 touches while winning a national championship during his final collegiate season at the University of Indiana, running back Roman Hemby went unpicked in the 2026 NFL Draft. However, the 23-year-old signed as an undrafted free agent with the Las Vegas Raiders and could be in position to earn a roster spot with Las Vegas in training camp. Ashton Jeanty is firmly atop the Raiders running back depth chart and should dominate backfield touches for the team in 2026. Still, Hemby looks to be fighting with the unproven running back trio of Mike Washington Jr., Dylan Laube, and Chris Collier for the RB2 role behind Jeanty. Because of his status as a UDFA, Hemby should be viewed as a long shot to carve out a fantasy-relevant role. At the same time, the situation around Hemby in Las Vegas could make him a worthy deep-league dart throw for dynasty managers.

Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Jalen Nailor signed a three-year, $35 million contract in free agency, leaving behind one of the league's most top-heavy receiver rooms in Minnesota for a wide-open one in Vegas. In his final season with the Vikings, Nailor led the team with four touchdown grabs and 15.3 yards per reception, making the most of a bad situation and flashing big play ability in a limited role. While the Raiders offense is expected to run through tight end Brock Bowers and running back Ashton Jeanty in 2026 and beyond, Nailor needs to beat out only Tre Tucker and 2025 second-round pick Jack Bech for an every-down role in Klint Kubiak's play-action-heavy system. With Bowers fighting through injury for much of the year and ultimately missing five games, Tucker led the team with 696 receiving yards in 2025. However, Jakobi Meyers opened the year as the Raiders' primary receiver, helping to suppress individual production across the team. With Meyers now gone, there's a realistic path for one of Vegas' wideouts to reach 1,000 yards for the first time in their career, and with the highest financial commitment of the lot, Nailor should see every opportunity to be that guy. At RotoBaller's dynasty WR86, he's an under-considered asset who could provide usable depth to contending rosters.

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza spent most of minicamp working with the third-team offense, as he did during organized team activities. While praising him for his work ethic and attitude, head coach Klint Kubiak has made it clear that the first overall pick of the 2026 NFL Draft will not just be handed starting reps. With veterans Kirk Cousins and Aidan O'Connell still ahead of him on the unofficial depth chart, the next month and a half before teams gather again for training camp will be a critical stage in Mendoza's development. An opportunity to lead the second-team offense should come early in camp, but from there, Mendoza will need to continue demonstrating growth to push for a starting job that will need to be earned rather than assumed. While the playmakers in Vegas are not necessarily a deep group outside of tight end Brock Bowers and running back Ashton Jeanty, it's clear the team is doing all it can to set Mendoza up for long-term success, and at RotoBaller's dynasty QB17, he is worthy of an early selection in superflex rookie drafts.

Veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins is entering his first season with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2026. Cousins' production has fallen off considerably in recent years, and he finished 2025 with 1,721 passing yards, 10 touchdowns, and seven interceptions across 10 games (eight starts) for the Atlanta Falcons. The 37-year-old appears set to enter training camp as the nominal QB1 in Las Vegas. However, Cousins is highly unlikely to hold the starting job for the Raiders all season long after the team's selection of quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the number one overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Even if Cousins opens 2026 under center for Las Vegas, he may struggle to put up fantasy-relevant production in an offense that is light on pass-catching talent outside of star tight end Brock Bowers. Cousins also averaged just 6.4 yards per pass attempt with the Falcons in 2025, his first season under seven yards per attempt since 2013. Dynasty managers should feel comfortable moving on from Cousins ahead of 2026.

Across 17 games in 2025, Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Tre Tucker hauled in 57 receptions for 696 yards and five touchdowns on 92 targets. Following the Raiders' midseason trade of veteran wideout Jakobi Meyers to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Tucker emerged as his team's WR1. Entering 2026, Tucker could find himself in a similarly prominent role. The Raiders added wideouts Jalen Nailor and Dareke Young in free agency, but neither profiles as a particularly high-volume target-earner. However, Las Vegas should get more out of superstar tight end Brock Bowers after he battled through an injury-marred 2025 campaign. Tucker's underlying metrics also remained uninspiring despite his increased role last season, as he managed just a 18.6% target share and averaged a subpar 1.19 yards per route run. The 25-year-old is entering a contract year and may not be in the long-term plans of the new coaching staff in Las Vegas. In dynasty formats, managers may want to explore selling high on Tucker.

A second-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Jack Bech failed to carve out a consistent role in his team's offense as a rookie. Across 16 games (five starts), the 23-year-old hauled in 20 receptions for 224 yards on 29 targets. While Bech's production was unquestionably underwhelming, he was done no favors by the putrid offensive environment around him in Las Vegas. Entering 2026, the Raiders offense should be better with a new play-caller in Klint Kubiak and new quarterbacks in veteran Kirk Cousins and 2026 first overall pick Fernando Mendoza. Additionally, Bech should still have an opportunity to emerge within a Las Vegas wide receiver room that added veterans Jalen Nailor and Dareke Young in free agency but remains without a true WR1. In dynasty formats, managers may want to take advantage of the buy-low window on Bech ahead of 2026.