NFL Draft Raiders Need More Homegrown Stars
The NFL draft begins Thursday night, and for the NFL Draft Raiders story, the message is simple: the next three days are about finding as many quality players as possible. That has been the challenge in Las Vegas for years, and it remains a major reason the Raiders have struggled to win consistently.
As the draft opens, the Raiders are once again trying to improve a roster that has not produced enough impact talent through the draft. A recent post from an NFL researcher on X highlighted just how thin the team’s homegrown Pro Bowl pipeline has been compared with the rest of the league. The Raiders have only two players on their roster who were drafted by the team and later became Pro Bowlers, which is near the bottom of the NFL.
Why the Raiders draft record matters
For a team trying to build a stable contender, draft picks are the foundation. The Raiders draft history has not consistently delivered enough difference-makers, and that has shown up in the standings. When a franchise misses on too many draft picks, it has to spend more time and money trying to patch holes elsewhere.
That is why this year’s Raiders draft outlook matters so much. The organization needs more players who can become long-term starters and, eventually, Pro Bowl-caliber contributors. The goal is not just to fill roster spots in 2026, but to find players who can change the direction of the team over the next several seasons.
The two Raiders who fit that description right now are defensive end Maxx Crosby and tight end Brock Bowers. Crosby was selected in the fourth round in 2019, while Bowers was taken in the first round in 2024. They are the clearest examples of what the Raiders hope to add more of in this NFL Draft Raiders cycle.
Who the Raiders have drafted into Pro Bowl status
The NFL Researcher post put the Raiders’ situation into perspective. Across the league, many teams can point to a deeper list of draft-developed Pro Bowlers. Las Vegas, by contrast, has only those two homegrown names to lean on. That is a low number for a franchise that wants to be taken seriously as a consistent winner.
- Maxx Crosby — fourth round, 2019
- Brock Bowers — first round, 2024
That list is short, and it reinforces the importance of the draft pick order and every selection the Raiders make over the next three days. Whether the team is picking early or later in each round, the pressure is on to turn draft capital into real production.
Fernando Mendoza is the expected top target
The Raiders are expected to start round one with Fernando Mendoza as the projected No. 1 overall pick. That makes the opening night of the draft especially important for the franchise’s rebuild. If the selection goes as expected, Mendoza would immediately become the centerpiece of the team’s latest attempt to add a franchise-level talent.
For fans searching for answers to questions like who the Raiders picked in the 2025 NFL Draft, who the Raiders got in the NFL draft, or what pick the Raiders have in the NFL draft, the broader point is that this team has to keep adding impact players. The exact draft capital changes from year to year, but the need stays the same: find players who can become core pieces, not just depth options.
That also makes the Raiders mock draft conversation relevant every spring. Mock projections, big boards, and team-specific seven-round plans all point back to the same issue — the Raiders need more hits than misses. Mel Kiper’s final big board and the Raiders’ own seven-round mock draft are part of the pre-draft picture, but the real evaluation comes after the picks are made.
What the next three days mean for Las Vegas
The NFL Draft Raiders storyline is bigger than one player or one round. It is about changing the roster-building trend that has held the team back for years. If Las Vegas can come out of this draft with more players who develop into starters, the roster will look far more balanced in the near future.
That is also why questions around Raiders draft picks, draft picks in general, and the Raiders’ draft pick order matter so much to fans. Every selection is an opportunity to add a player who can help the team win more consistently. For a franchise with only two drafted Pro Bowlers on the roster, those opportunities carry extra weight.
The next three days will not solve everything, but they will go a long way toward showing whether the Raiders are finally ready to build the kind of draft class that can support a winning team.
