Las Vegas Raiders Three More Teams Facing Pressure in 2026 NFL Draft

We can spot you the No. 1 team on the list, the Las Vegas Raiders, for being obvious captains of the NFL's desperate.

When it comes to the draft, the Raiders are long on misses. JaMarcus Russell was the last No. 1 overall pick for a franchise kluging together misfit pieces in recent years and stockpiling losses by the dozen. They bagged 14 of 'em last season, Pete Carroll's only year at the helm, and start over in as many ways as they could afford in 2026.

The climb out of the AFC West cellar is dark, steep and slippery. But there's nowhere to go but up considering Las Vegas has 36 total losses since the start of the 2023 season.

The latest reboot will mean a couple new quarterbacks for first-time head coach Klint Kubiak and for the sake of Fernando Mendoza and Kirk Cousins, a lot more help on the offensive line and perhaps a receiver capable of beating man coverage. Mendoza might not make a start in September — GM John Spytek and Kubiak both suggested insulating a rookie QB would be part of the plan — while getting a feel for the pro offense and recent first-round brethren Ashton Jeanty at running back and tight end Brock Bowers.

If you are getting Manning-Faulk/James-Pollard/Clark vibes, that seems to be the intent.

Jeanty and Bowers had 17 of the Raiders' 25 total touchdowns last season. Even with Geno Smith, moved to the Jets in a spring trade, running for his life and Jeanty rarely breaking the line of scrimmage before first contact with a defender, Las Vegas knows it has two capable playmakers. It's not enough, but it's a start.

Hitting on the top pick and getting game-ready help is a must unless the Raiders enjoy the view behind the Broncos, Chargers and Chiefs.

Spytek isn't alone as a GM feeling the squeeze to deliver this week.

Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings are living on the back of the 2020 draft, when somehow 21 picks rolled by and Justin Jefferson (LSU) was still on the board. He's an All-Pro and Minnesota should be thanking the sweet heavens they lucked into the pick. Because their second first-rounder in that draft, cornerback Jeff Gladney, was a poor investment. That's been on-brand for the Vikings. In 2021, their second selection was Texas A&M QB Kellen Mond. He played one game and threw three passes in a Minnesota uniform.

J.J. McCarthy, the top pick in 2024, had a fun debut at Chicago last season in his second year with the team. But right now he's more famous for walking on the grass barefoot pregame than anything he's delivered consistently in the NFL. The second first-round selection in 2024, Dallas Turner (17th overall), has 11 sacks in 33 career games. That's three more than 94th overall pick Jalyx Hunt.

To compete in the NFC North, you better have a quarterback. It's Caleb Williams, Jordan Love and Jared Goff on the other side. The other option, if Kyler Murray and McCarthy can't figure it out, is to be one of the best defenses in the NFL.

New York Giants

Now armed with two top-10 picks, new head coach John Harbaugh and the Giants are feeding expectations for a team that rises a rung above being competitive.

Harbaugh might be a great coach — his resume in Baltimore points that direction — but he strolls into the locker room with a $20 million salary, a paycheck for 2026 that is nearly double the take-home of Williams, Jayden Daniels, C.J. Stroud, Cam Ward and dwarfs the earnings of Giants QB Jaxson Dart ($1.6M this season).

No, he's not playing quarterback. But he's clearly playing GM, and being paid at a rate exceeding all but three current players (Brian Burns, Andrew Thomas and Paulson Adebo).

All of this to say, Harbaugh didn't get this whopper of a contract to hit doubles. He needs to swing for the fences and park a few 400-foot tanks to be a hit in New York. What does that look like?

This would be the third draft in four years in which the Giants had two first-round picks.

Since 2015, the Giants have had nine top-10 picks. From Ereck Flowers ('15) to Eli Apple ('16), Saquon Barkley ('18) and Daniel Jones ('19) to Thomas (2020), Kayvon Thibodeaux (fifth, 2022) and Evan Neal (seventh, 2022) the results have been all over the map.

If Harbaugh can bring anything with him from Baltimore, it should be the Ravens' consistent wins on draft day by sitting still and selecting the best player on the board.

Miami Dolphins

Miami is in the midst of a rebuild, and this isn't a "wait 'til next year" kind of conversation.

The Dolphins are carrying more dead cap space than any team in history having rid the roster of Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Bradley Chubb and last year's deadline dump, Jaelen Phillips.

Jeff Hafley was hired to replace Mike McDaniel and knows there are more needs than impact players in Miami. Paired with former Packers co-worker Jon-Eric Sullivan (GM), the duo has been part of rebuilding a dynamic defense in Green Bay and has the benefit of basement-level expectations for 2026.

They also have seven of the top 94 picks, plentiful ammunition to come out of the weekend with a handful of marquee prospects.