The Raiders have officially set their first 53-man roster under head coach Klint Kubiak. Las Vegas waived quarterback Jacob Clark, defensive tackle Brandon Cleveland, offensive lineman Braeden Daniels, long snapper Tyler Duzansky, tight end Patrick Gurd, defensive end Jahfari Harvey, running back Roman Hemby, offensive tackle Niklas Henning, receiver Shedrick Jackson, offensive tackle Isaiah Jatta, safety Devin Lafayette, defensive tackle Treven Ma’ae, kicker Kansei Matsuzawa, offensive tackle Kamar Missouri, cornerback Caleb Offord, cornerback Devyn Perkins, center Will Putnam, defensive end Cian Slone, linebacker Zavian Sorey Jr., defensive tackle Gary Smith III, cornerback Greedy Vance, offensive tackle Dalton Wagner, and receiver E.J. Williams. The Raiders released receiver Phillip Dorsett, receiver Brandon Johnson, linebacker Buddy Johnson, linebacker Cameron McGrone, tight end Chris Myarick, running back Dare Ogunbowale, tight end Albert Okwuegbunam Jr., linebacker Segun Olubi, and receiver Deven Thompkins. Receiver Chase Roberts has been waived with an injury designation. Finally, defensive end Keyon Crawford and tight end Carter Runyon were both placed on injured reserve. But Runyon has been designated to return, which means he’ll be eligible to play in Week 5
The guaranteed money in undrafted free agent contracts for the Las Vegas Raiders provides insight into which players are most likely to make the 53-man roster. Corey Rucker and Chase Roberts appear to have an advantage over E.J. Williams and Jonathan Brady due to higher guaranteed money. However, familiarity with quarterback Fernando Mendoza could also play a role. Rucker is among the highest-paid UDFAs, but competition for roster spots, particularly at edge rusher, remains fierce
The Las Vegas Raiders are expected to have a wide-open competition to fill out the depth chart at wide receiver this summer. After the 2026 NFL draft and offseason as a whole, it’s one of the weakest position groups on the Raiders’ roster , giving undrafted free agent Chase Roberts a chance to earn a spot during training camp. Las Vegas currently lacks a true “X receiver”, and at 6-foot-3, 209 pounds, the BYU product has the size to fit that profile. He’s also coming off an impressive season, racking up 54 catches for 802 yards and six touchdowns to earn the fifth-best receiving grade (76.9) among Big 12 receivers, per Pro Football Focus . He was also one of the more efficient wideouts in the conference, ranking 11th with 2.35 yards per route run. With that in mind, let’s dive into the tape and see what gives Roberts a chance to make the team. Two elements of Roberts’ game really stood out on film: his football IQ to find and expose holes against zone coverage, and his body control to make sideline catches. Both are on display in the clip above. Pre-snap, Iowa State shows a blitz look with the boundary safety at the top of the screen lined up directly over the slot receiver and a little closer to the line of scrimmage than normal, while the nickelback has inside leverage. However, the defense doesn’t bring the heat, where the safety bails toward the sideline as if they’re running Cover 2 or a two-high coverage. But it’s actually Cover 3 Cloud, where the corner squats or doesn’t get any depth, and the other safety rotates to the middle of the field post-snap. That’s designed to create confusion for the quarterback and wide receivers, but Roberts isn’t fooled and sits in the hole between the boundary safety and squat corner. The quarterback finds him and throws an inaccurate pass toward the sideline. Luckily, the wideout has good ball tracking skills, field awareness and body control to still make the grab while dragging his feet to move the chains. BYU had a true freshman quarterback last year whose accuracy was sporadic, so Roberts had a handful of catches that were very similar to this one. This next play is a lot simpler, but it continues to highlight the third-team All-Big 12 receiver’s intelligence as a route runner. He’s running a simple slant route against Cover 1 or man coverage this time and does a great job of maximizing the quarterback’s throwing window to pick up a first down. One of the issues with the offense’s playcall against this coverage is that the defense has its middle linebacker playing as the low hole defender, meaning he’s reading the quarterback’s eyes and looking to help the defensive backs take away anything over the middle by stepping into the passing lane or delivering a big hit to get a PBU. However, Roberts does a good job of avoiding that by releasing wide off the line of scrimmage. Notice what that does to the nickelback lined up over him. The nickel wants to maintain outside leverage, so he widens with the receiver’s release, which creates a bigger window or more space between the nickel and the linebacker. On top of that, Roberts slows down after breaking on the slant to avoid running into the linebacker. So, the quarterback has more than enough room to make the throw, and the wideout immediately turns up the field with the ball in his hands to move the sticks. That’s excellent awareness, both before and after the catch. We’re building on the previous section, as this rep is similar to the last one; the route just happens further down the field. Granted, the route isn’t very complicated here. It’s just an over against quarters coverage. But Roberts does show some nuance by flattening his path around the 35-yard line rather than staying on a 45-degree angle toward the pylon. Since the cornerback is playing off coverage and with outside leverage, flattening the route helps the receiver maximize his separation rather than running into coverage, especially since no defender on the oth
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Even after making 10 selections during the 2026 NFL draft , general manager John Spytek was busy adding 17 undrafted free agents to the roster. Of course, the Raiders are a long way away from having to settle in on a 53-man roster , but let’s take an early look at a few UDFAs who have a good chance to make the cut, considering who is in front of them on the depth chart. Wide receiver is one of the biggest remaining holes on Las Vegas’ roster after the draft. Many expected the club to prioritize the position, but Spytek didn’t add a wideout until the sixth round (Malik Benson). That gives any receiver on the roster a fighter’s chance to make the team during training camp, especially a UDFA who caught passes from Fernando Mendoza last season. Williams managed to haul in 36 receptions for 438 yards and six touchdowns last season, and the 6-foot-3, 205-pound receiver has the frame to fill the void at ‘X’ potentially. Along the same lines, Roberts stands at 6-foot-3 and 209 pounds. He doesn’t have the immediate chemistry with Mendoza, but the BYU product is the better prospect and was more productive than Williams, giving him a leg up if the competition is between the two of them. Roberts had 54 grabs, 802 yards and six touchdowns for the Cougars last season. Another former Hoosier who could find a home in Las Vegas. Hemby toted the rock 230 times and racked up 1,118 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns to be the National Champions’ leading rusher, ahead of San Francisco 49ers ’ third-round pick Kaelon Black. Meanwhile, the Raiders have their first two backs in the fold with Ashton Jeanty and fourth-round pick Mike Washington Jr., but the third spot is very much up for grabs. Hemby will have to beat out Dylan Laube and Chris Collier , and special teams could be the deciding factor, especially since Laube can contribute as a returner. The Indiana product doesn’t have much return experience, but he did return 16 kickoffs in college, including nine last season. Defensively, one of the biggest surprises from the Raiders’ draft was that they didn’t prioritize adding a nose tackle, as Spytek didn’t take a defensive tackle until his last pick of the draft (Brandon Cleveland). That’s good news for Smith, who ranked fourth among Big Ten defensive tackles with an 82.3 run defense grade from Pro Football Focus last season. The 6-foot-1, 323-pound d-lineman also finished third with 24 “ defensive stops ” against the run in 2025. The front office moved on from Daniel Carlson this offseason, replacing Carlson with Matt Gay during free agency. However, Gay made just 73.9 percent of his field goal attempts last season and was in the low 80s during the 2024 and 2023 campaigns. That leaves the door open for Matsuzawa, who hit 93.1 percent of his field goals this past fall. Plus, an elite nickname like ‘The Tokoyo Toe’ has to count for something, right?
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