With draft season in full swing, it is time for our first three-round Las Vegas Raiders mock draft. There is still plenty of scouting left, but it is never too early to project what Las Vegas might do.
For this mock, there will be no trades, and we will use Draft Professors as the simulator. Let’s get started.
Raiders 3-Round Mock Draft: Building a “Klint Kubiak” offense
Round 1, Pick No. 1: Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana
This feels close to set in stone—the Raiders need a young quarterback with franchise upside, and Fernando Mendoza is the only player in this class who realistically fits that profile.
Mendoza is easy to like, but honesty matters: he probably would not be the No. 1 pick in most drafts. He has the prototypical build, yet there are still questions about his fundamentals. His Indiana University Bloomington tape is strong, but his earlier University of California, Berkeley tape looks closer to a Day 3 projection. He has improved since then, no doubt. The question is why.
How much of the jump is Mendoza, and how much is the setting? Indiana gave him stability, elite coaching, and NFL-caliber targets. That context matters when projecting him to Sundays. Still, Las Vegas should not obsess over the idea of “reaching.” If Mendoza becomes the answer, nobody will care where he was taken.
Round 2, Pick No. 36: Gennings Dunker, OL, Iowa
Gennings Dunker checks three boxes that NFL teams keep betting on: size, edge and a University of Iowa pedigree. He played tackle in college, but he projects more cleanly as a guard in the NFL.
That versatility fits the Raiders. They could give him a real look at right tackle against D.J. Glaze, and if he is better suited inside, slide him to guard without wasting the pick. Lining him up next to Jackson Powers-Johnson at center could give Las Vegas a nasty, tone-setting interior pairing fast.
Round 3, Pick No. 67: Ted Hurst, WR, Georgia State
It might look like a luxury pick, but it is too valuable to pass up. The Raiders have defensive needs—mainly linebacker, safety and nickel—and those spots can often be addressed on Day 3.
A receiver like Ted Hurst likely will not last past the second round. He fits the prototype the Raiders lack: an outside “X” who can win on the boundary and stress coverage vertically. Jack Bech has a role, but he is not the consistent outside field-stretcher this offense is missing.
Las Vegas does not have to spend big to find that element, either. Brock Bowers can remain the top target, while Hurst provides a cost-controlled option on the perimeter who forces defenses to play wider.
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