During the NFL Draft, the Las Vegas Raiders focused heavily on their secondary. They needed it.
Last season, only Tennessee and Miami allowed opponent quarterbacks to complete passes at a higher clip than the Raiders, who tied Dallas for the third-highest opponent completion percentage in the league.
General manager Jon Spityek used four of the team’s 10 picks at cornerback and safety. Las Vegas drafted Arizona safeties Traydon Stukes and Dalton Johnson in the second and fifth rounds. The team added cornerbacks Jermod McCoy and Hezekiah Maas on day three.
“We definitely needed to add competition to the defensive back room,” Clint Kubiak said. “It’s very rare to get two safeties on the same team playing together. It’s exciting. Get two new corners. That was an area on defense we needed to address.”
The question now is how four rookies fit into a defensive rotation that has to handle some of the game’s best pass catchers.
Traydon Stookes highlights the versatility of all four players
Treydan Stukes can rotate at nickelback and safety. At Arizona, he defended in man and zone, played the line of scrimmage and back end, and graded out at 90.1 overall last season – sixth best among cornerbacks nationally.
He allowed a 34.4 passer rating when targeted.
“I’m going to learn both (positions) and wherever I can fit in best and help the team win some games, that’s what I’m going to do,” Stukes said during rookie minicamp.
The Raiders traded down two spots and still took advantage of first-round talent to send them to the second round. Four interceptions and six pass breakups last year show why this matters.
Defensive coordinator Rob Leonard wants the interception. Stukes gives him a ballhawk in the middle of the field.
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Arizona teammates join veterans in Raiders secondary
Dalton Johnson was selected at No. 150 due to his versatility. He can play free safety, strong safety, nickelback and the slot. The Day 3 pick has a value of four positions.
Johnson totaled 277 tackles in his final three seasons in Tucson. He’ll learn behind veterans Jeremy Chinn and Isaiah Pola-Mao, who played 96% and 89% of defensive snaps last season – both clearing or approaching 1,000 snaps.
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Jarmod McCoy proving himself despite knee concerns
Jermod McCoy went from a potential first-round pick to the first pick on Day 3. Injury history ruled him out.
He missed all of 2025 due to a torn ACL at Tennessee. Reports surfaced before the draft that some teams believed a second surgery was imminent due to degenerative concerns surrounding a bone plug in the same knee. The Raiders made a one-spot deal to take him anyway.
“Confidence wasn’t an issue,” said vice president of player personnel Brandon Hunt. “We felt good about where we took him. It was an opportunity to get value. This was probably the best corner in the draft, and we feel like we have great people and a great process to make sure we get the best out of this player.”
Despite the medical report, McCoy worked out of rookie minicamp. At Tennessee in 2024, after transferring from Oregon State, he posted four interceptions and nine pass breakups and earned All-American honors. The next three months will show the attackers what they really have.
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Maas and McCoy join veteran cornerback room
If Stukes is the ballhawk in the middle, Hezekiah Maas is the ballhawk on the outside.
Masses led the nation with 18 passes defensed last season. He finished seventh with five interceptions and earned AP Second Team All-American honors. At over six feet tall, he reads route concepts well on the field.
The veteran room he and McCoy step into is solid. Teron Johnson comes to Buffalo with eight seasons of double-digit games, 48 pass deflections (seven or more in four consecutive years from 2020-23), 98 tackles and AP All-Pro Second Team honors on his resume. Eric Stokes played more than 90% of the defensive snaps for the Raiders last season – that group included Pola-Mao and Devin White – and added five pass deflections and 53 tackles.
You have two rooms led by veterans and four rookies, which gives the Raiders a lot to be excited about.
As a result, both defensive back rooms have an opportunity to turn their great draft picks into a top unit by combining them with their veterans. The next three months of preparation before the season will tell how far they come along.
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