How Raiders' Youth Movement Officially About To Begin

Week 1 Is Finally Here

It was a long but productive summer for the Raiders. Las Vegas' front office had arguably the most active offseason of any front office in the league. Overall, few teams made as much progress on their roster this summer as the Raiders. Admittedly, few teams had as much room for progress as they did.

Raiders general manager John Spytek is confident in Las Vegas' recent group of young players brought in under his watch. In two offseasons, the Raiders have drafted several players who are poised to be starters or play significant roles for them in 2026 and beyond.

Young Raiders

"I keep saying they're the right kind of people, but they are. When you walk the first floor with the people that interact with them every day, they're good young men, they're respectful. They are intentional about their work. They're learning to be professionals. They take criticism. They take advice,” Spytek said earlier this week.

“They know it's not personal, and they desperately want to play football and to help the Raiders to be a good football team, to win football games. It's easy to do that one or two days a week, it's a lot harder as a rookie to do that every day, and I see a group of young men that are maturing into professionals and kind of willing to pay the price that it takes to stay here and to be a part of a winning culture."

In this year's draft class alone, Las Vegas found at least four to five players who will be impactful this season. No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza's expected impact remains to be seen, but it goes without saying. Rookie safety Treydan Stukes has already earned a starting position.

When healthy, Keyron Crawford has potential. Offensive lineman Trey Zuhn III will serve in a reserve role this season but appears destined to be a starter in the future. Cornerback Jermod McCoy has significant upside. Running back Mike Washington may start the season at running back.

Safety Dalton Johnson has the potential to be a solid developmental piece and contributor moving forward. Wide receiver Malik Benson has quickly gone from a sixth-round pick to a player who could carve out a role both on offense and on special teams.

It remains to be seen how well these draft picks will work out, as Week 1 is just now approaching. Still, a general manager and front office can only do so much research and scouting on any set of players. It is fair to believe these players will help the Raiders, but they must prove it on the field.

As the Raiders take the field for their first regular-season game under Kubiak, they do so with little known about them and little predictable to those outside the organization. However, while it may still be unclear what these Raiders will be, it is clear they will be youthful.

Las Vegas has assembled a roster filled with both veteran experience and young, unproven talent. They will depend on both somewhat equally moving forward, as that youth and experience are spread out across several critical positions on both sides of the ball.

No one can say what the future holds for Las Vegas, but Week 1 will officially begin a youth movement the Raiders hope will lead to sustainable success. For years, the Raiders have hung their hat on the veterans on their roster. They will still lean on veterans under Kubiak, but less so.

Moving forward, Las Vegas will continue filling its depth chart with young players. Kubiak and his coaching staff plan to build on that by developing the young talent that Spytek and the front office will continue to provide. Week 1 is only the beginning.