Vic Tafur

Host at Just Win: A Podcast Covering the Las Vegas Raiders

Senior Writer @TheAthletic ~ Cover Raiders & NFL ~ @JustWinPodcast ~ "I walk the earth, meet people, get in adventures, like Caine in Kung Fu”

Articles

Picks, predictions and key needs

1 week ago | nytimes.com | Vic Tafur |Tashan Reed

The Las Vegas Raiders have the sixth pick in the NFL Draft when Round 1 begins April 24 in Green Bay. The Raiders own nine total picks in the seven-round draft. Raiders' draft picksFull draft orderEvery pick in the seven-round NFL Draft. NFL Draft details* Round 1: April 24, 8 p.m. ET * Rounds 2-3: April 25, 7 p.m. ET * Rounds 4-7: April 26, noon ETAll rounds will be televised on ESPN/ABC and NFL Network and in Spanish on ESPN Deportes.
Does Geno Smith's contract put them back in the mix to draft a QB?

1 week ago | nytimes.com | Vic Tafur

The 2025 NFL Draft is two weeks away, and the Las Vegas Raiders are lining up first- and second-round draft possibilities out the door. Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham, LSU offensive tackle Will Campbell, Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart, Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers and UCLA linebacker Carson Schwesinger all paid visits to the team facility in Henderson on Tuesday and Wednesday, per league sources.
Should Raiders take Ashton Jeanty at No. 6 or play the NFL Draft board?

2 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Vic Tafur

By now, many may have heard John Spytek's story last week about his son and Mark Davis. The Las Vegas Raiders general manager's son, Jack, told the team's owner that if his dad doesn't draft Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty with the No. 6 overall pick in the NFL Draft ... then his dad is "doing a bad job."Bad enough that Jack, 10, may pack up and hit the road.
Picks, predictions and key needs

2 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Vic Tafur |Tashan Reed

The Las Vegas Raiders have the sixth pick in the NFL Draft when Round 1 begins April 24 in Green Bay. The Raiders own nine total picks in the seven-round draft. Raiders' draft picksFull draft orderEvery pick in the seven-round NFL Draft. NFL Draft details* Round 1: April 24, 8 p.m. ET * Rounds 2-3: April 25, 7 p.m. ET * Rounds 4-7: April 26, noon ETAll rounds will be televised on ESPN/ABC and NFL Network and in Spanish on ESPN Deportes.
Raiders, QB Geno Smith agree to two-year, $85.5 million extension: Source

2 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Vic Tafur |Tashan Reed

The Las Vegas Raiders have signed quarterback Geno Smith to a two-year extension worth $85.5 million, according to a league source. The deal guarantees Smith $66.5 million and keeps him under contract through the 2027 season. NFL Network was first to report the news of an extension. It's a two-year, $85.5M extension with $66.5M guaranteed, per source. Smith was already due $31M in 2025, so he's now on a three-year, $116.5M contract.
'We are undefeated'

3 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Vic Tafur

PALM BEACH, Fla. - As he took another bite of a large stone crab claw, Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis looked at the Atlantic Ocean to his right and smiled. "I say it every year, this is my favorite time - we are undefeated," he said Monday. It is not lost on Davis that, at the NFL's annual league meeting at The Breakers resort, the Raiders are trotting out their third coach and general manager pairing in three years. "I just didn't get it right," he said.
Brian Callahan praises Shedeur Sanders' confidence as Titans close in on No. 1 pick decision

3 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Vic Tafur

PALM BEACH, Fla. - "Closer."That's the up-to-the-minute update from coach Brian Callahan on where the Tennessee Titans stand on deciding who they want to draft with the first pick. The Titans, assuming they don't trade down from the lofty spot, have identified their four finalists as Ward, edge player Abdul Carter, defensive back/receiver Travis Hunter and quarterback Shedeur Sanders.
Picks, predictions and key needs

3 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Vic Tafur |Tashan Reed

The Las Vegas Raiders have the sixth pick in the NFL Draft when Round 1 begins April 24 in Green Bay. The Raiders own nine total picks in the seven-round draft. Raiders' draft picksFull draft orderEvery pick in the seven-round NFL Draft. NFL Draft details* Round 1: April 24, 8 p.m. ET * Rounds 2-3: April 25, 7 p.m. ET * Rounds 4-7: April 26, noon ETAll rounds will be televised on ESPN/ABC and NFL Network and in Spanish on ESPN Deportes.
20 prospects to watch in first round and beyond

4 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Vic Tafur

This time every year, someone asks each NFL general manager about drafting for need versus taking the best player available. The answers go on for minutes, and sometimes include the word "philosophy," when in reality the truth is not that deep: It just depends. The Las Vegas Raiders were desperate to draft a quarterback until they traded for Geno Smith a couple of weeks ago.
Behind the Raiders' approach to free agency and where the roster stands now

1 month ago | nytimes.com | Vic Tafur

Las Vegas Raiders fans, starved for decades for wins much less a coherent, thought-out plan, were excited for free agency. Tom Brady, Pete Carroll and John Spytek had the second-most salary-cap space in the league at $95.3 million and Carroll, 73, said that his new team was going for it now. A couple of weeks later, Raiders fans are still looking at their plates for more.