2026 NFL Draft: Sam Roush can round out Raiders’ tight end room
With elite size and pro-ready blocking ability, Stanford product is sound complementary piece
Sep 27, 2025; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal tight end Sam Roush (86) stiff arms San Jose State Spartans linebacker Noah McNeal-Franklin (9) during the first quarter at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-Imagn Images | Stan Szeto-Imagn Images With elite Brock Bowers as the starter and Michael Mayer a reliable backup, the Las Vegas Raiders tight end room looks like it’s set and isn’t an area of opportunity. But looks can be deceiving.
With Klint Kubiak now the head coach and offensive play caller, bolstering the tight end position further is indeed an area of opportunity. Largely due to Kubiak’s penchant to trot out three-tight end sets to help establish an effective run game and also lull defenses into sleep and run passing concepts out of those said formations. So while Bowers and Mayer do provide a quality 1-2 punch for Kubiak’s Raiders, the third spot exponentially rises in importance.
And currently, the Raiders boast veteran Albert Okwuegbunam Jr. and Carter Runyon as the tight ends on the roster beyond Bowers and Mayer. While the aforementioned duo of Okwuegbunam and Runyon provide pass-catching options at the position group, a traditional in-line “Y” tight end would be ideal to allow Kubiak to maximize his offense.
The 2026 NFL Draft is ample opportunity to do just that. Thus, Stanford’s Sam Roush. By The Numbers Sam Roush, Tight End, Stanford 2025: 12 games, 49 receptions, 545 yards, 2 touchdowns Career: (2022-25), 48 games, 119 receptions, 1,201 yards, 4 touchdowns #Stanford TE Sam Roush runs his routes with urgency and does a nice job with route pacing and finding soft spots in zone coverage over the middle of the field.
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