NFL Draft Insider has the Las Vegas Raiders potentially doing what would go completely against Klint Kubiak’s words
The Las Vegas Raiders are likely going to go with either a wide receiver or defensive tackle at pick No. 36, despite what Matt Miller and Jordan Reid are saying about a tackle.
The Las Vegas Raiders have a plan. They already have an idea of what they will do with the No. 36 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Of course, that’s 36 picks into the draft, and anything can happen. So, yes, they also have a backup plan, or a few of them.
What’s likely not on that plan is the Raiders taking an offensive tackle at No. 36. How do I know that? Well, I’m just going off what head coach Klint Kubiak has said so far.
“Obviously, there is some stability at both tackle spots,” Kubiak told reporters back at the NFL Combine. “You have some young picks in JPJ (Jackson Powers-Johnson) and Caleb (Rogers). It’s a work in progress, still learning all of the guys, still kind of catching up on last season with what they have done. What I do know is that we will have a clear teaching style. I’ve seen Rick Dennison get the best out of his guys. The main thing is that we get them all playing together, and that comes with teaching our system. I do like the guys that we have.”
Unless this is a smokescreen, this is quite literally Kubiak saying that they won’t draft a tackle high in the draft. He likes the stability, and once you draft a tackle high, one that will be the new starter, you kind of end that stability. Now, they do need some depth, so I do imagine they will use a Day 3 pick in the draft to grab at least one tackle. If that tackle wins the starting job in training camp, then that’s a whole other conversation.
So it could be a smokescreen, especially because one NFL Draft Insider is gathering intel that says otherwise
ESPN’s Matt Miller has intel on the Raiders’ pick No. 36
Pick No. 1 won’t be a surprise, but where the Raiders go at No. 36 is a question a lot of NFL decision-makers are pondering. Based on the intel I’ve gathered, it’ll be a pick to support Mendoza. That might be a wide receiver or a right tackle, depending on who’s available. — Miller, ESPN
That just doesn’t seem right. Now, do I think the Raiders need an offensive tackle? Sure. Last season was one of the worst seasons for the offensive line in football. Starting right tackle DJ Glaze led the league in Blown Blocks, per Sports Info Solutions, with 54 total. Given these struggles, fans expected a new right tackle to arrive via free agency or the 2026 NFL Draft. However, that did not happen in free agency, and signs indicate it may not happen in the draft either.
However, as we have said a few times now, the Raiders are very good at keeping tight-lipped, especially with GM John Spytek running the show. Remember last season, when everyone the day before the draft was saying the Raiders would draft Armand Membou, the offensive tackle from Missouri? That didn’t happen, as he went after Jeanty. So, who knows what will happen?
