The Las Vegas Raiders just watched their new head coach win the Super Bowl, as Klint Kubiak and the Seattle Seahawks took down the New England Patriots on Sunday. Now, Kubiak will be going from first to worst, leaving the Champion Seahawks to take on the challenge of rebuilding the Raiders, who own the No. 1 pick of the 2026 NFL draft after finishing the campaign with a 3-14 record.
Obviously, Seattle’s offense has a lot more talent than Las Vegas’. But let’s compare both rosters to see where and how significantly the Silver and Black fall short when juxtaposed to the unit that Kubiak just led to a title.
Quaterback
2025 Seahawks: Sam Darnold
Projected 2026 Raiders: Fernando Mendoza (No. 1 pick)
Geno Smith must hate to see Kubiak coming. Smith was still with the Seahawks when Kubiak was hired in Seattle last offseason, only for the club to trade him to Las Vegas at the beginning of March. Now, it’s almost the same situation, just in a different city, as the Raiders are expected to bring in the coach and send the quarterback packing.
The most important position on the field is one of the biggest differences between this past season’s Seawhawks and the 2026 Raiders. The good news is that the Silver and Black have a clear path to addressing the need by using the first selection in April’s draft on Mendoza, who is a great fit in Kubiak’s offense. Of course, how well the coach can develop and mold the Indiana product into a capable NFL starter will be a big factor moving forward.
Offensive Line
2025 Seahawks: LT Charles Cross, LG Grey Zabel, C Jalen Sundell, RG Anthony Bradford, RT Abraham Lucas
Projected 2026 Raiders: LT Kolton Miller, LG TBD, C Jackson Powers-Johnson, RG Caleb Rogers, RT DJ Glaze
It’s no secret that Las Vegas needs to get more out of its offensive line moving forward. The front office has to address the unit in the offseason, starting with whether or not to re-sign impending free agents Dylan Parham or Jordan Meredith (restricted), both of whom could occupy the left guard spot. Then, it’s a matter of where to play Powers-Johnson and bringing in some competition for the other positions.
The good news is that what Kubiak had in the trenches with the Seahawks isn’t that far off from what the Raiders have.
Cross is an excellent left tackle, but so is Miller, and Seattle’s interior offensive line was nothing to write home about this past season. Zabel is a promising rookie but went through his ups and downs in year one, finishing the campaign with a 61.8 grade from Pro Football Focus. A similar statement could be made about Sundell, a second-year pro who earned a 63.5 mark, and right guard will be one of Seattle’s biggest offseason needs after Bradford finished with a 49.0 grade.
The biggest difference between the two units is at right tackle. Lucas had a very good season, ranking tied for 13th among all offensive tackles by recording an 81.0 PFF grade, while Glaze was tied for 67th at 60.6. Upgrading that should be one of the Silver and Black’s biggest points of emphasis this offseason, especially with how much Kubiak likes to run outside zone. Charles Grant could factor into the mix for Vegas, but Grant is an unknown commodity after barely playing as a rookie.
Running Back
2025 Seahawks: Kenneth Walker III, Zach Charbonnet, Robbie Ouzts (FB)
Projected 2026 Raiders: Ashton Jeanty
Kubiak became known for sticking to the run this past season, as the Seahawks finished the regular season with the third-most rushing attempts and 10th in rushing yards. That should be music to Jeanty’s ears, but the offensive play-caller did lean pretty heavily on a two-running back system in 2025. Walker was the team’s lead back with 221 rushes for 1,027 yards and five touchdowns in 17 regular-season games, while Charbonnet wasn’t too far behind at 184 attempts, 730 yards and 12 scores in 16 outings.
So, the Raiders have their version of Walker in Jeanty, but need to find their Charbonnet/complementary back to replicate what Kubiak had in Seattle. Also, the closest Las Vegas has to a fullback on the roster is defensive tackle J.J. Pegues, creating another need in the backfield. Granted, Ouzts was a tight end at Alabama before getting drafted in the fifth round and switching positions as a rookie with the Hawks this past season. In other words, the Raiders could get creative with how they approach the fullback position this offseason.
Wide Receiver
2025 Seahawks: Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp, Rashid Shaheed
Projected 2026 Raiders: Tre Tucker, Jack Bech, Dont’e Thornton Jr.
Considering the Silver and Black have the No. 1 pick to get an upgrade at quarterback, wide receiver is where the 2026 Raiders fall the shortest compared to the 2025 Seahawks. Kubiak was excellent at designing plays for Smith-Njigba, helping the wideout become the Offensive Player of the Year, and Tucker would be the fourth-best wide receiver on Seattle’s roster.
Las Vegas has some young talent out wide that could be developed down the line, but the position group is a steep drop-off from what Kubiak was working with this past season.
Tight End
2025 Seahawks: AJ Barner, Eric Saubert, Elijah Arroyo
Projected 2026 Raiders: Brock Bowers, Michael Mayer
Tight end is the one position group where the Raiders actually have an advantage over the Seahawks. Barner might be a better blocker than Bowers, owning a 62.3 PFF run-blocking grade during the regular season compared to Bowers’ 50.6 mark. But the latter is the superior pass-catcher, recording 12 more catches, 161 more yards and one more touchdown while playing in five fewer games.
Meanwhile, as a receiver, Mayer outpaced Arroyo and Saubert combined, going for 35 catches, 328 yards and a score while the Seahawks’ duo racked up 19 grabs, 211 yards and one score. Granted, Arroyo (60.7) and Saubert (61.0) did have the better run-blocking marks, but not by much, with Mayer coming in at 52.0.
Kubiak might look to add a third tight end since he uses a good amount of 13 and 23 personnel, and Mayer will be entering a contract year next season. However, that should be pretty low on Las Vegas’ priority list this offseason.
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