Everyone was talking about Fernando Mendoza Thursday night, and rightfully so. The Raiders finally have their franchise quarterback, and that story is going to dominate the conversation for years. But Day 2 is where front offices reveal who they actually are — and in Las Vegas, GM John Spytek gave us some things to like and at least one decision to push back on.

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When the Raiders and Texans made their trade — Las Vegas sent picks 36 and 117 to Houston in exchange for picks 38 and 91 — I get the logic on paper. You drop two spots, pick up a third-rounder, and you’re still getting your guy. But here’s the problem: the guy Houston wanted was Kayden McDonald, and I wanted the Raiders to take him. McDonald absolutely could have gone in the first round — a rare playmaker at nose tackle weighing in at 330 pounds with elite production. That’s not hyperbole. That’s a generational interior defender, and the Raiders let him slide two spots down the board so they could pocket an extra pick.

"I'm just so thankful, just so emotional like, where I came from now I'm here. It's a blessing." 🥹Kayden McDonald checked in with @LauraRutledge after getting drafted No. 36 overall by the Texans ❤️ pic.twitter.com/tZJD6SOkje

I understand the draft-capital argument. I do. But there’s a version of this where you stay at 36, take McDonald, and your defensive line looks completely different heading into 2026. You don’t always get those players. Spytek called it a great move, saying they were confident Stukes would still be there and needed to survive only two picks to get their guy. Fine. But “our guy” at 36 could have been a Pro Bowl-caliber nose tackle. Instead, McDonald is in Houston.

Now, to be fair, what the Raiders did with those picks isn’t without merit.

Treydan Stukes at 38 addresses a real need. The Raiders’ secondary entered the draft thin at safety and nickelback, and Stukes can do both. He played free safety for three years at Arizona before transitioning to primarily covering the slot, and he recorded four interceptions last season. The concern is age — he’s an older prospect and might be capped in terms of ceiling — and that’s a legitimate knock. But the Raiders weren’t picking in a vacuum. They needed athletes back there, and Stukes fits a real hole.

At 67, they added edge rusher Keyron Crawford out of Auburn, who is a former basketball player with good athleticism that could use development, but can contribute as a pass-rusher right away. With Maxx Crosby still anchoring that line, Crawford doesn’t have to be an immediate impact guy. He just has to develop, and there’s a reasonable path there.

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Then came the pick I actually liked the most on Day 2. With the 91st pick — that third-rounder they got from Houston — the Raiders took Texas A&M guard Trey Zuhn III, who adds versatility to the offensive line, having played multiple positions in the trenches in college. If Fernando Mendoza is the future, protecting him is the present. Zuhn fits that priority. After spending two 3rd-rounders on offensive linemen last year in Caleb Rogers and Charles Grant, the Raiders are loading up on young talent up front, which is exactly the right approach when you’ve just handed your offense to a 22-year-old quarterback making his first NFL start.

So where does that leave us after two days? The Raiders have their cornerstone in Mendoza. They’ve added secondary help, depth on the edge, and another piece for the offensive line. That’s a functional draft by most measures. The Stukes pick is a reasonable one even if it doesn’t excite you. Crawford is a project with upside. Zuhn was genuinely good value.

But I keep coming back to Kayden McDonald. Getting a 330-pound nose tackle with that kind of production for this price doesn’t come around often, and the Raiders had first crack at him. They chose the trade instead. Maybe Spytek’s board told him Stukes and an extra pick was the better play. Maybe it was. We won’t know for three years.

What we do know is that after a decade of wandering in the desert, the Raiders have a plan, a quarterback, and a draft class that, at minimum, doesn’t blow it up before it starts. That counts for more than it used to in Las Vegas.

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