Raiders 7-round mock: How good can these guys be with Maxx Crosby on board?

Feb 10, 2026; Las Vegas, NV, USA; The jerseys of Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers (89) and defensive end Maxx Crosby (98) at the Raider Image store at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images So… it’s been a fun offseason so far. Eh, Raiders fans?

The Maxx Crosby trade that wasn’t, and the corresponding moves to improve the franchise, have put the Raiders in an interesting position they haven’t seen in a while. A team with exactly one winning record and one playoff berth in the last nine seasons (2021 for both) are all of a sudden in a spot to be at least frisky in the 2026 season, and more for all the right reasons than with a structure that isn’t sustainable. Having Josh McDaniels as your head coach is like holding a grenade in your hand and not knowing if and when it will go off, Antonio Pierce didn’t stand a chance with what he had, and Pete Carroll was unfortunately in the Van Halen/Gary Cherone phase of his estimable timeline when he signed on in 2025.

Now, it’s Klint Kubiak’s turn to try, and based on my experience as a Seattle resident who’s covered the Seahawks since 2010, I have reason to believe that Kubiak will have a much better handle on things. It will help that the team did a lot to shore things up in free agency. Center Tyler Linderbaum was the deal they needed to make, cost be damned , and the additions of lesser-known players who can consistently contribute in their own ways, like edge-rusher Kwity Paye, receiver Jalen Nailor, and linebackers Quay Walker and Nakobe Dean, give boosts where needed.

We obviously know how the first overall pick in the draft will go, and we’ll get into that in a second, but beyond the addition of the hopeful franchise quarterback there, how can Kubiak, GM John Spytek, new defensive coordinator Rob Leonard, and everybody else in the building move things further in the right direction? With my own amateur tape study, a bunch of metrics, and half a handle on what the team still needs to be competitive, here’s one seven-round path to better days. Round 1, Pick 1 (1): Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana We already know about this guy.