klint kubiak
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Las Vegas Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak.
One of the worst-kept secrets in the NFL is that the Las Vegas Raiders are likely to use the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft on Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza. That has led to increased interest regarding what the team will do in the second round, since that’s less clear.
However, the Raiders might be dropping hints on what position they could target in Round 2. The team has been holding their Top 30 visits ahead of the draft, and notably, they have been meeting with a lot of wide receivers who are expected to be second-round picks.
Washington’s Denzel Boston, Texas A&M’s KC Concepcion, Alabama’s Germie Bernard, Georgia State’s Ted Hurst, Texas Tech’s Caleb Douglas and East Carolina’s Anthony Smith are among the wide receivers the Raiders have hosted for visits.
Those are just the reported names. So far, the team has met with more wide receivers than any other position group ahead of the draft. This doesn’t guarantee that the Raiders are targeting a wide receiver in the second round, but it sure is suspicious how many they’ve met with. The team has several big needs, but they clearly want to upgrade the wide receiver room.
Which WR Would Be Best Fit for Raiders?
Some of the wide receivers the Raiders are meeting with will likely be available in the third round, so they don’t have to address it with their second pick. The Athletic’s Nick Baumgardner floated two separate scenarios for Las Vegas. The first was selecting Bernard in the second round.
“I’ve loved the fit between a Mendoza-led Raiders offense and Bernard for a while now,” Baumgardner wrote. “Bernard is one of the most quarterback-friendly receivers in the 2026 draft class and would help provide an immediate safety net to develop alongside Mendoza. The Alabama pass catcher is a savvy, quick and dependable route runner who would complement Brock Bowers very well.”
The other scenario was waiting until the third round and selecting Hurst.
“The receiver class is deeper — Hurst is one of the best athletes in the draft, has serious big-play potential and is ready to compete,” Baumgardner wrote.
The Raiders have athletic deep-threat wide receivers, so they might want a more capable X-receiver. Bernard would be closer to that mold. The 6-foot-4 Denzel Boston would also have to be intriguing, but he might not fall to the Raiders in the second round.
Raiders Giving up on Jack Bech & Dont’e Thornton?
The Raiders just used a second-round pick on Jack Bech and a fourth-round pick on Dont’e Thornton last year. However, neither player did much as a rookie.
It’s possible that the Raiders have already soured on their potential. Bech was supposed to be a high-level slot receiver, while Thornton’s size and speed made him a perfect candidate to be their X-receiver.
Both players have big-time potential, but the Raiders don’t seem eager to risk it. With a rookie quarterback coming in, the team wants to surround him with weapons. Though Bech and Thornton could be impact players, the Raiders are going to add more players to the room.