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The Las Vegas Raiders have their franchise quarterback, Fernando Mendoza.
But after taking the Indiana QB with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, there's one thing still lacking in Vegas.
Simply put: The Raiders haven't grown their wide receiver room.
Mendoza will have star TE Brock Bowers to throw to.
He's also got supremely talented RB Ashton Jeanty with him.
But at receiver? It's not quite the same.
"The Raiders have wide receivers, but no one is established as a No. 1 option," ESPN's Aaron Schatz wrote in a new article on Thursday in which he named "outside wide receiver" as the Raiders' biggest remaining need. "(Yes, their No. 1 receiver is tight end Brock Bowers, but it is still good to have somebody drawing attention outside.) Tre Tucker is going into his fourth season and had 57 catches for 696 yards and five touchdowns last season, but he also had a score of just 29 out of 100 in the ESPN receiver scores. Jack Bech (20 catches for 224 yards) and Dont'e Thornton Jr. (10 catches for 135 yards) underwhelmed in their rookie seasons. Dareke Young had just four receptions in four seasons with Seattle before signing with Las Vegas this offseason, and rookie Malik Benson is a sixth-round pick."
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It's already been made clear that Mendoza may not even be the Week 1 starter. The Raiders brought aboard Kirk Cousins to hold down the veteran placeholder role for as long as they might need.
Still, the WR group should be better than this, shouldn't it? There are still quality veterans available if the Raiders want to go that route. If not, next year's draft will be one in which Vegas should target receiver early and often. Mendoza could use the help.
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