The Las Vegas Raiders roster is starting to look fully formed. There will still be other moves made before the start of training camp, but what they have now will mostly be what they have this season.
The Raiders had many needs all over the roster this offseason, but the one position group that was solid was tight end. Headlined by two high draft picks in Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer, Las Vegas has a chance to field one of the best tight end duos in the NFL.
That said, Mayer has been banged up for much of his career, so the Raiders do need some depth at the position. They decided against drafting a tight end, but they did find one as an undrafted free agent. Boise State announced that tight Matt Lauter is heading to Las Vegas.
Running back Ashton Jeanty should be excited to see a familiar face. The two played together for three seasons in Boise. It remains to be seen if Lauter will have a chance to make the roster, but he was a productive player for the Broncos. In 2024, he had 47 catches for 619 yards. His numbers went down in 2025, but he was still solid with 37 catches for 330 yards.
Raiders Labeled Winners From Draft Weekend
The Raiders are used to being the subject of criticism after the draft. For years, they’ve reached on players and didn’t find value later in the draft. This year, everybody loves what the Raiders did.
Not only did they find a potential franchise quarterback, but they found a few players who could be impact starters as rookies. ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. loved what the Raiders did and gave them an “A” grade.
“Outside of Mendoza, Round 4 could define the rest of the Raiders’ draft class,” Kiper wrote. “To kick off Day 3, Las Vegas stopped Jermod McCoy’s slide. McCoy was in the conversation for CB1 in the class all season based on his tape and attributes. But he suffered a torn ACL in January 2025, missed the entire season and sat out the combine. I kept him at No. 29 on my board, but it’s clear teams weren’t comfortable with how the knee was progressing. When healthy, he’s excellent and picked off four passes in 2024. But will he get healthy? At this point in the draft, it’s worth finding out.”
All About Mendoza
The Raiders could’ve found multiple Pro Bowlers in this draft class, but it won’t matter if Mendoza isn’t the real deal. For now, the Raiders are very excited about the young quarterback, and general manager John Spytek explained why he was their guy.
“It’s a great scheme fit for us,” Spytek said, via Raiders.com. “He’s big. He can see downfield. He can see over the middle of the field. He can throw those balls. He’s athletic, so all the boots and the keepers that we like to run, he’ll do well with. He has a good arm. He can throw the ball all over the field wherever it needs to be, and he’s extremely accurate, which whatever system you play in as a quarterback, is important.”
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