The Las Vegas Raiders
got one of the best secondary players in the entire draft, and it’s only a matter of time before he shows that.
The Las Vegas Raiders took safety Treydan Stukes at the top of the second round
of the 2026 NFL Draft for a reason.
Sure, he's very versatile-plays nickel, outside corner, and free safety. Yes, he can be a ball hawk with acrobatic interceptions and polarizing pass deflections. However, his best trait is undoubtedly his intelligence on the football field. This is why there were general managers who think he is the second-best safety in this class behind Caleb Downs
.
His IQ is something Stukes certainly takes pride in.
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"We used to have a coach who said, ‘The days of the dumb jock are over,’ and it’s very true. You have to be smart to play high-level football," Stukes told reporters. "There are a lot of moving parts. There are a lot of things going on, and if you want to be able to keep up and adjust in real time, you’ve got to have the brain processing power to do so, especially playing safety.
"You’re the quarterback of the defense. So, yeah, I think just having that higher intellect and keep continuing to train my brain just helps me process things faster and digest and do different things on the field and be able to make those real-time decisions, snap decisions in seconds.”
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Stukes is the type of player the Raiders can build the secondary around for years to come
I know a lot of people are concerned with Stukes' age. He's a safety who will be 25 by the time he starts his rookie season, as he was born on 9/11. And that is, admittedly, old for a rookie. However, the Raiders shouldn't be worried about that for two reasons. One, they're in the business of getting good football players right now. They are not in the business of worrying about a player’s age right now.
Secondly, Stukes is the type of player who you won't have to worry about age with as much because of the kind of role he will play. He will be that free-safety kind of player who roams the field and can be a centerfielder. Now, will he get some bumps and bruises and find himself in some physical situations? Absolutely. Will he be playing that box safety role that finds him mixing it up with players much bigger than him? Not often, as that will be Jeremy Chinn
or Isaiah Pola-Mao
's job.
Stukes played outside CB, FS, and Nickel last season at Arizona
.
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52 tackles (1 TFL, but 12 total TFLs in career)
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4 interceptions (7 career INTs)
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6 pass deflections (29 career PBs)
The age should be worrisome when it's time to hand out that second contract in four years. Then, you can look at what he's done and see if there's room for improvement as a 29-year-old. Yes, he's coming as a 25-year-old rookie, but he's also more ready to play and won't have nearly as many learning curves as younger players will. He's a player who elevates your unit now.
