Ranking the Raiders' Best 2026 Players: No. 20
Ranking the Raiders' Best 2026 Players: No. 20
Roster-wise, the Las Vegas Raiders have come a long way in a short period of time. They are depending on several players stepping up in 2026.Ezekiel Trezevant|
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Las Vegas RaidersThe Las Vegas Raiders' productive offseason will be the first of many, as several of their moves in both free agency and the NFL Draft will impact the team for many years to come. Las Vegas' front office made several moves that improve the team and give them leverage moving forward.
The Raiders have set themselves up for a promising future by putting together the best offseason in many years. Las Vegas' solid offseason full of additions is just what they needed this summer, yet for all of the roster-related questions that were answered, more remain.
Raiders' Critical Defensive Backfield
The Raiders have undoubtedly improved on their coaching staff and on both sides of the ball. However, they have yet to confirm that on the field, where it matters the most. Las Vegas will soon take the field for training camp, which will give the best idea of how far they have come since January.
Las Vegas' progress has been notable and should lead to a solid 2026 season that proves the progress they have made on paper is real. Training camp is the next step in an offseason filled with moves that will help expedite the Raiders' rebuild.
Over the next few weeks, we will rank the top 30 players on the Raiders' roster. There will be no rookies on this list, as it is impossible to make the list with zero regular-season snaps.
Ranking the Raiders: No. 20, S Isaiah Pola-Mao
Entering the offseason, the Raiders lacked depth at safety, among other positions. Yet their lack of depth at safety could have a much more negative impact than their shortcomings at other positions. Las Vegas needed additional talent at safety for multiple reasons.
The Raiders will depend heavily on veteran safeties Isaiah Pola-Mao and Jeremy Chinn in 2026, and possibly beyond. Still, they needed additional dependable talent on the roster behind them, as the Raiders aim to be more versatile on both offense and defense.
With Pola-Mao, Chinn, and the additional talent that was added to Las Vegas' defensive backfield this offseason, the Raiders' defense has improved just as much, if not more than, the offensive side of the ball. However, that will only be the case if Pola-Mao continues to improve his play.
Pola-Mao gives the Raiders a dependable starter at safety, but like every other player, Pola-Mao has room to improve ahead of the 2026 season. It appears he has made those improvements, but training camp will be the true test. Defensive coordinator Rob Leonard explained his plans for the unit.
“It's always important. It's a matchup league, you can't out-scheme people all day, and that's really important. But at the same time, you have to be careful with progression of bringing players along,” Leonard said.
“You think they can handle one or two spots, well maybe we just start them off with one spot, then with the vision to build that way. So, you need to know this, and then maybe down the road, and that's a case-by-case scenario based on the player. But being multiple is important.”
Pola-Mao is a significant part of the Raiders' hopes and plans of becoming a more versatile defense. Even with the additional talent that was added to Las Vegas' defensive backfield, not having Pola-Mao available for any reason would be problematic. Las Vegas needs a productive season from him.
The Raiders added talent to nearly every position group on the roster. Specifically, those additions on defense should help Pola-Mao and the rest of the defensive backfield tremendously. Additional speed and talent at linebacker and along the defensive line bode well for the secondary.
“If it's up, it's ours. It's hard right now in the offseason staying up, but you can see when a guy's in a position to make a play, anticipation out of breaks. That's why I think individual is so important, giving the coaches their indy [individual] time to rep change of direction,” Leonard said.
“Not taking anything for granted. They're not just doing schematic type things, but putting them in position to do things that they would do in a game, so that they can confidently do it and attack the ball, that's what's really important.”
During the 2026 season, and as the Raiders move forward into next offseason, the play of Pola-Mao and Chinn will be a significant factor in the team's future. Pola-Mao has gradually grown into a player that a competent Raiders' coaching staff could develop into a solid starter moving forward.
Las Vegas' defensive backfield is arguably the position group with the most questions remaining. Those questions, especially at the safety position, will center around their play on the field and, for Pola-Mao, their future with the team. That is essentially what this season will amount to for him.
It is a contract season for Pola-Mao. Players generally play their best when that is the case. Now, in addition to his personal motivation, the Raiders have also provided Pola-Mao with the best teammates and coaching staff he has had since joining the team.
Those moves make the team as a whole better, but they also make certain players' jobs easier. In theory, this should be the case for Pola-Mao and the rest of Las Vegas' defensive backfield, which should lead to a solid season for the veteran and the position group.
No matter what happens in the 2026 season, it seems impossible that Pola-Mao's play will factor into the success or lack thereof for the Raiders' defense. Las Vegas is depending on many new coaches and players across the board in 2026, but it still needs holdovers such as Pola-Mao to produce.
The Raiders answered plenty of questions about the coaching staff and roster this offseason. Now the questions shift from what the Raiders will do at certain positions to how the moves they made will pan out on the football field. Time will tell how things turn out in Las Vegas, but several puzzle pieces have to fall in place for success.
Published 27 minutes ago
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EZEKIEL TREZEVANTEzekiel is a former Sports Editor from the Western Herald and former Atlanta Falcons beat writer.
Follow ztrezevantAngel Mom Torches Dems For Protecting Illegals: 'There's No 'But' When Your Child Is In A Coffin'
USAngel Mom Of Sheridan Gormon Torches Dems For Protecting Illegals With Sanctuary Policies
(Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
Lucy Spence Contributor July 01, 2026 2:34 PM ET July 01, 2026 2:34 PM ET Lucy Spence Contributor Font Size:An angel mom torched Democrat members of Congress on Tuesday by arguing that Democrat sanctuary policies prioritized illegal immigrants over her daughter’s life.
Jessica Gormon, the mother of murdered 18-year-old Sheridan Gormon, tearfully condemned the sanctuary policies imposed by Democrat politicians during a House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement hearing. The event examined sanctuary policies in Illinois and California that have put “the interests of criminal aliens ahead of the interests of Americans.” Prosecutors charged Jose Medina-Medina with the murder of 18-year-old Sheridan Gorman, CBS News reported. The Homeland Security Department (DHS) said Medina-Medina is a Venezuelan illegal immigrant who had previously been arrested for shoplifting and released in Chicago, Illinois.
Gorman recalled the night her daughter was killed. “The man accused of murdering my daughter […] is an illegal immigrant from Venezuela who should not have even been in this country,” she said. “And even after committing a crime and having an outstanding warrant, he was left on the streets of Chicago to murder my innocent American child.” (RELATED: Markwayne Mullin Tells Sanctuary Cities What They Might Lose If They Refuse To Cooperate With DHS)
“Failed border policies and sanctuary city laws and twisted leaders refused to cooperate with ICE,” Gormon said. “They sent her to her grave.”
“[This story is about] a government and politicians that forgot their first priority,” Gormon added. “And the question before this committee is painfully simple: When did protecting our American citizens stop being your first priority? And even more important: Why did protecting our American citizens stop being your first priority?”
“I want an explanation, and I need one, and I deserve one,” the mother said. “In what world did the girl who saw everyone become invisible to the people in power responsible for protecting her? This cannot be explained away and it cannot be buried beneath a list of unrelated issues that you all paraded before us,” Gormon told the lawmakers.
“Explain why sanctuary policies matter more than my Sheridan’s life. Explain why cooperation with ICE was too much to ask for, but asking our American parents to bury our children is somehow acceptable,” Gormon said. “I don’t understand why it’s only the Republican side that cares about our American children.”
“I know that you’re a mother, I know that you’re a father — I deeply value that — but basically what you just did, what you said was, ‘I’m so sorry for your loss. […] I feel your pain.'”
“You don’t!” Gormon fired back. “You don’t feel my pain, because the next words out of your mouth were, ‘But.'”
“There’s no ‘but’ when your child is in a coffin,” Gormon said. “There’s no ‘but.'”
The angel mother challenged the members of Congress to “sit and hold my hand and look me in the eye and explain to me why illegal immigrants are more important than my daughter.”
“Explain why sanctuary policies matter more than my Sheridan’s life,” Gormon demanded.
Democrat Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin and Democrat Washington Rep. Priya Jayapal attended the hearing, according to footage. Committee chairman Republican California Rep. Tom McClintock, Republican Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, and Republican New York Rep. Mike Lawler were also present.
Reps. Lawler and Raskin got into a heated shouting match at the beginning of the hearing as the New York Congressman tried to introduce Jennifer Gorman to the committee.
U.S. Border Patrol took Medina-Medina into custody at the border and released him into the interior in May 2023 during former President Joe Biden’s administration, according to DHS. He was later freed in June that year after allegedly shoplifiting in Chicago. (RELATED: Supreme Court Rules Illegals Outside The US Have Not Arrived In The US)
Sanctuary cities limit their cooperation with federal immigration authorities, often preventing local or state law enforcement from pressing for individuals’ immigration status or assisting federal officers in enforcing civil violations of federal immigration law, according to a Library of Congress overview. Chicago is led by Democrat Mayor Brandon Johnson, and is listed as a sanctuary city by the Department of Justice (DOJ). Ten of the 12 listed by the DOJ are led by Democrat politicians, as is Washington, D.C.
