Raiderstation

Obvious Mendoza #1 no consideration of trading that pick.
But who you got picks 2 - 4 thats going to help Mendoza.

#2 Raiders should be able to select WR Chris Bell or WR KC Concepcion with our early 2nd.

#3 I forget who it was, but someone here mentioned that the best pure dominant RT coming out of college could be got in the 3rd. And stated hes played his whole career at RT, and not being moved around the line.

Sounds like solid gets

Id hope the rest of the draft is building the trenches, with maybe 1 DB in there

Who else you like ?

Viper wrote: Tue Mar 03, 2026 4:27 am I thought so, also. My opinion is a bit biased as I’ve liked his potential for a while now. Physical traits are insane but I have no illusions he’s a gamble and huge project. He needs to go to another team that is more well rounded and doesn’t have as many holes to fill as we do. We can’t afford taking a chance on a project but if we were in a different position, I’d love to have the kid.

Big and fast, but his funky delivery is going to have to be fixed. He is slow delivering the ball, and has mechanics problems. He is wildly inconsistent and while his deep ball is pretty considering his mechanics, he has zero touch on the intermediate passes and his dump off passes. Someone is going to pull a trigger on him perhaps even in the first round. He compares to a poor man's Michael Vick only bigger and faster. I have seen projections as high as number 2 overall to day three in the draft. I am on the fence on him, I see day three talent but I see day one potential. My gut tells me in a draft that has one good QB option, he could go on day two is my bet. Probably low second round if I am pushed to guess. But I am not counting out the Jets pulling the trigger on the guy in the top of the second or even with their second first round pick. Jets are desperate for a QB

Rabidraider wrote: Mon Mar 02, 2026 2:09 pm Some of these small fast wideouts can be productive. This one is also a kick returner as you probably know.

I saw he was ranked 6th among receivers, wonder where he will get drafted.

Not that I put much stock in mock drafts, but the latest ESPN 2 round mock does not have Branch being drafted. I tend to agree that he is not a first or second round pick. If he is there in the third, maybe but we have a return man on the roster who is pretty good and we have other needs over a smaller WR

If a team is looking for a tackle which tend to get drafted higher than guard then its not smart financial.

Attyla wrote: Tue Mar 03, 2026 5:09 am Big and fast, but his funky delivery is going to have to be fixed. He is slow delivering the ball, and has mechanics problems. He is wildly inconsistent and while his deep ball is pretty considering his mechanics, he has zero touch on the intermediate passes and his dump off passes. Someone is going to pull a trigger on him perhaps even in the first round. He compares to a poor man's Michael Vick only bigger and faster. I have seen projections as high as number 2 overall to day three in the draft. I am on the fence on him, I see day three talent but I see day one potential. My gut tells me in a draft that has one good QB option, he could go on day two is my bet. Probably low second round if I am pushed to guess. But I am not counting out the Jets pulling the trigger on the guy in the top of the second or even with their second first round pick. Jets are desperate for a QB

Right, with a kid like him nobody actually knows his landing spot, and when. All I’m confident about is if the Jets get him he’s pretty cooked.

Attyla wrote: Tue Mar 03, 2026 5:27 am Not that I put much stock in mock drafts, but the latest ESPN 2 round mock does not have Branch being drafted. I tend to agree that he is not a first or second round pick. If he is there in the third, maybe but we have a return man on the roster who is pretty good and we have other needs over a smaller WR

That mock has us taking Hunter, a big DT, in the 2nd. I'm good with that.

BoKnows81 wrote: Mon Mar 02, 2026 2:32 pm Branch is explosive and has added punt return value. I wouldn't mind adding him at all if he's there in the 3rd but early 2nd is a bit too rich for me. He's like Curtis Samuel on steroids.

This WR class is hard to keep track of. I’m a big Omar Cooper guy - the obvious Mendoza connection but seemed like a great value play 2 months ago when he was a 3rd or 4th round pick. Now he’s starting to show up in the 1st round of some mocks.

raiders93 wrote: Tue Mar 03, 2026 2:52 pm This WR class is hard to keep track of. I’m a big Omar Cooper guy - the obvious Mendoza connection but seemed like a great value play 2 months ago when he was a 3rd or 4th round pick. Now he’s starting to show up in the 1st round of some mocks.

Same here. Cooper looked great at the combine. I wish he was there for us at 36 but I don't know if that's gonna happen now. The familiarity with Mendoza and him is so important imo.

I don't think the WR class is as deep as people believe, same as this past year. Don't be fooled by the combine, Once the top 3 or 4 guys go, the rest are wr4's at best.

mranquales wrote: Tue Mar 03, 2026 6:18 pm I don't think the WR class is as deep as people believe, same as this past year. Don't be fooled by the combine, Once the top 3 or 4 guys go, the rest are wr4's at best.

Here’s to hoping our new regime along with Mendoza can make our WR’s Beck and Thornton look better than they did last year. I’m still holding out hope they turn out to be much better this year. What a boost that would be if they each could get even 700-800 yards apiece. We desperately need a receiver to replace the yards that Jakobi was giving us.

raider_kin wrote: Tue Mar 03, 2026 7:40 am That mock has us taking Hunter, a big DT, in the 2nd. I'm good with that.

First free agency. If we sign a guy like Linderbaum and let's say some other OL out there then probably not going OL with the 2nd pick. If they are hot after a guy like Pierce and sign him then WR looks less likely. Tough to say for sure. The first pick is a lock, no mystery there. The rest of the draft including our 2nd rounder will all depend on how the board falls, who's there at that pick and how our own board shakes out.

Viper wrote: Tue Mar 03, 2026 7:57 pm Here’s to hoping our new regime along with Mendoza can make our WR’s Beck and Thornton look better than they did last year. I’m still holding out hope they turn out to be much better this year. What a boost that would be if they each could get even 700-800 yards apiece. We desperately need a receiver to replace the yards that Jakobi was giving us.

Right there with you. Both of them had time on the field last year so offseason, training camp and the speed of the game they will already have a very good feel for it all. Just a matter of Kubiak and company getting the most out of them and putting them in positions to succeed. Bech, Bowers, Mayer and Thornton are all tall targets and Bech, Bowers, Thornton and Tucker all have good wheels.

Viper wrote: Tue Mar 03, 2026 7:57 pm Here’s to hoping our new regime along with Mendoza can make our WR’s Beck and Thornton look better than they did last year. I’m still holding out hope they turn out to be much better this year. What a boost that would be if they each could get even 700-800 yards apiece. We desperately need a receiver to replace the yards that Jakobi was giving us.

I think one of them (maybe both) will surprise now that Brandon Carroll is gone. He did not like young players and even had a case of the ass over some veterans. This is what happens when you hire the Crypt Keeper as a head coach (only interested in immediate results).

Do you think Pat Coogan will be there in the 4th? I heard Mendoza raving about his work ethic

Nor_Cal_Raider wrote: Wed Mar 04, 2026 7:27 am Do you think Pat Coogan will be there in the 4th? I heard Mendoza raving about his work ethic

If he is, we'd be crazy not to snag him...he can play C or guard. (started 13 games at G while at Notre Dame)

raidersince63 wrote: Wed Mar 04, 2026 8:10 am If he is, we'd be crazy not to snag him...he can play C or guard. (started 13 games at G while at Notre Dame)

Plus we have three 4th rounders, so its like getting him for free.