Every Rookie Worth Tracking at Raiders Training Camp

Fernando Mendoza

The obvious headliner is the first pick of the draft. Mendoza won the Heisman Trophy and the National Championship at Indiana. The Raiders, as a quarterback needy team, had an easy decision to select him.

But Las Vegas didn’t give itself an easy decision for when to play Mendoza. After signing Kirk Cousins and naming him the starter for training camp, the Raiders are looking for Mendoza to watch from the sideline to begin his NFL career.

Mendoza already spoke about how he isn’t ready to play, signaling that he is on board with the decision. But how quickly Mendoza progresses - and how much Cousins struggles - will be a key to watch during camp.

Trey Zuhn III

Despite having one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL, the Raiders only used one draft pick to shore up the protection for their quarterbacks. Zuhn was a third-rounder out of Texas A&M. 

He played tackle in college, but is moving to the interior of the offensive line. If Zuhn pops, he could steal a starting job from Jackson Powers-Johnson or Spencer Burford.

But the most important aspect of Zuhn's game will be versatility. He has already been used at multiple positions along the interior of the line in camp.

Mike Washington Jr.

The Raiders also decided to draft a backup running back in the fourth round. With Ashton Jeanty entering his second season, Las Vegas has its top back ready to go.

Washington already got some reps with the first-team offense in camp, something Mendoza hasn’t even done. We will see if Kubiak wants to split up the carries in the backfield, similar to how the Seahawks handled Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet last season.

The Raiders are hoping to revamp the secondary with rookies

Treydan Stukes

A safety out of Arizona, Stukes was the Raiders’ second-round pick. With Mendoza expected to start as a backup, Stukes could be the highest round pick to play for the Raiders in Week 1. 

However, like Mendoza, Stukes has a veteran blocking his path to playing time. Stukes is being used as a nickel corner, the same position as free agent acquisition Taron Johnson. The Raiders can rely on a veteran instead of throwing Stukes into the fire as a rookie. 

But Las Vegas acquired Johnson by sending a sixth-round pick to Buffalo and getting a seventh-rounder back with Johnson. There is not much invested in the 30 year old to make his starting spot a given for the entire season. 

Jermod McCoy

McCoy had one of the most fascinating drafts. Leading up to the draft, he was mocked in the first round and even called the best cornerback in the draft class. But a knee injury scared teams away, and he fell to round four. The Raiders took the gamble and are hoping to have found a future star late in the draft. 

McCoy is not expected to start in Week 1, as he is being brought along slowly. But the Raiders are looking to the future with this draft class. If McCoy can be a starting level corner, or better, in 2027 and beyond, the pick will have paid off. 

Hezekiah Masses

Despite being taken in round five, and being the fourth member of the secondary in the Raiders’ 2026 draft class, Masses might be the first rookie to start for the Raiders in 2026. He took snaps with the starting defense on the first day of training camp.

The Raiders don’t have a locked-in cornerback to start next to Eric Stokes, so if Masses continues to impress, he could be the first glimpse of the rebuild in the regular season.