Despite a franchise-altering draft and major coaching overhaul, a brutal AFC West slate threatens to land the Las Vegas Raiders back toward the top of the 2027 NFL Draft.
A new chapter is beginning for the Las Vegas Raiders football team.
The Raiders fired Pete Carroll as head coach, traded away quarterback Geno Smith and moved on from offensive coordinator Chip Kelly after that experiment failed miserably.
The Raiders hired Seattle Seahawks OC Klint Kubiak as the head coach and selected Indiana Hoosiers QB and Heisman Trophy winner with the first pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
And, the Raiders signed veteran QB Kirk Cousins, which will allow Mendoza to take all the time he needs to figure things out before being thrown into the fire of the NFL game.
So, even though the Raiders look much-improved, at least on paper, the chances of them finishing anything other than last in the AFC West is unlikely.
Ralph Vacchiano of Fox Sports ranked all 32 NFL teams in eight different tiers, and the Raiders made the tier at the very bottom, called "The race to the top of the 2027 NFL Draft."
Here were the other teams in that tier with the Raiders.
- New York Jets
- Miami Dolphins
- Cleveland Browns
- Arizona Cardinals
Vacchiano wrote that it is a "good bet" that those teams will have the first worst records in the NFL, and that's tough to argue against.
Here's what he wrote about the Raiders being on the list.
"The Raiders are the ones that don’t need a franchise QB anymore after drafting Fernando Mendoza No. 1 in April. They even improved their team around him — at least a little. In fact, if they weren’t in the AFC, and in particular the AFC West, they might have a shot at being in the playoff race most of the season. But the road is too tough. And at some point they’ll hand Mendoza the keys, which almost always means an initial step backward."
So, yes, the Raiders did improve drastically, and just going from the Carroll-Kelly HC-OC combo to any other combination is a gigantic upgrade.
As Vacchiano notes, the tough AFC West won't do any favors at all for the Raiders, and unless there is a major drop-off from one of the Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos or Los Angeles Chargers, the Raiders figure to be at the bottom looking up in the standings.
If the Raiders do end up with the top pick again, they probably trade it, especially with big names such as Oregon QB Dante Moore and Texas QB Arch Manning linked as potential top picks. On the other hand, the Raiders pairing Mendoza with Ohio State superstar WR Jeremiah Smith is one thing to consider, and that would be so fun to see.
At the end of the day, the Raiders are probably a year or two away from playoff contention, but the future is finally bright in Las Vegas.
