Klint Kubiak was cautious last month evaluating the Las Vegas Raiders, knowing that minicamp doesn’t compare as a data point to training camp.
“What team that we’re going to become, we’ll find out come training camp when we put pads on,” Kubiak said. “There’s so many guys that are maybe doing great right now that will disappear come the fall.”
Time to find out who they are.
The Raiders report for training camp on Tuesday and practice in full for the first time Wednesday, starting their prep for 2026 at Intermountain Health Performance Center. Kubiak as their first-year coach will continue installing his concepts and culture beside offensive coordinator Andrew Janocko, defensive coordinator Rob Leonard and special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis.
Installation coincides with competition between 90 men for 53 spots in silver and black. Maxx Crosby will pressure the passer, Kolton Miller — and Tyler Linderbaum — will protect the passer, from whom Ashton Jeanty fields handoffs as Brock Bowers runs routes and catches passes. Their roles on the Raiders are without question as battles for reps unfold around them.
Here are five position battles worth tracking:
■ Guard: Miller is back as the longtime left tackle as Linderbaum — as a free-agent signee and the NFL’s highest-paid center — mans the middle of the offensive line, for which DJ Glaze is back after starting 17 games last year at right tackle. But Dylan Parham is a New York Jet after starting four years for the Raiders at guard and Jackson Powers-Johnson’s midseason injury opened snaps at guard last year for Caleb Rogers, then a rookie.
Spencer Burford joins the group — after 38 starts in four seasons with the San Francisco 49ers — with third-round rookie draftee Trey Zuhn III. Powers-Johnson and Burford might have the inside track on starting spots, but Rogers, Zuhn and Jordan Meredith should provide pressure and competition in camp.
■ No. 2 cornerback: Eric Stokes solidified his standing last season as the team’s top corner with Darien Porter, then a rookie, finishing the season as a starter beside him. But the Raiders drafted Jermod McCoy and Hezekiah Masses in the fourth and fifth rounds and repped them intermittently during offseason workouts with Porter opposite Stokes.
McCoy possesses top-end talent and was pegged to be a first-round pick, but concerns remained about the torn right ACL he sustained in college. He raises the team’s ceiling if he plays to his potential, though Porter is positioned for some second-year growth with Masses too pushing for playing time amid his background as a ball hawk in college.
■ No. 1 wide receiver: Bowers is back as the focal point and top target in the passing offense (from the tight end spot) with injuries last year limiting his availability and productivity. Save for Bowers, who had 112 catches for 1,194 receiving yards in 2024 as a rookie, the Raiders don’t have a proven go-to receiving threat.
Tre Tucker is the top incumbent after logging a career-high 696 yards in 2025 to lead the team. The Raiders also signed speedster Jalen Nailor (444 receiving yards in 2025) away from the Minnesota Vikings, for whom he played behind Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. Dont’e Thornton Jr. and Jack Bech could take second-year steps following limited production in 2025.
Kicker: Daniel Carlson’s eight-year run is over despite the 10th-best field-goal percentage ever (86.9 percent) and All-Pro first-team honors in 2022. He cedes his spot as Raiders kicker to veteran Matt Gay or rookie Kansei Matsuzawa, both of whom were acquired this offseason.
Gay kicked for the Los Angeles Rams in their Super Bowl campaign of 2021 and has an 84.3 percent field-goal percentage, marred in part by his 73.9 percent mark last season with the Washington Commanders and 49ers. Matsuzawa was an All-American at Hawaii, making 93.1 percent of his kicks last season while leading kickers in points.
■ Quarterback … sort of: The Raiders didn’t guarantee Kirk Cousins $20 million in 2026 to start the season standing on the sideline as a high-priced backup to Fernando Mendoza. The 15-year veteran and four-time Pro Bowl honoree led the first unit throughout the offseason program and figures to start for the silver and black so long as he’s steady during training camp.
But Mendoza can push for playing time sooner — should Cousins struggle consistently in training camp, this season or befall at 38 to injury — if he makes the most of his first-team reps with completions and all-around command of the offense.
As Kubiak said six weeks ago: “The real evaluation comes with those 11 practices before we play that first preseason game.”
Almost that time.
Contact Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on X.
