The Las Vegas Raiders selected Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft on Thursday, confident the Heisman Trophy winner and national champion just keeps winning.
The 22-year-old becomes the centerpiece of a franchise rebuild following his own meteoric rise, culminating in the Hoosiers claiming a football national title for the first time in program history.
Las Vegas went 3-14 last season and fired Pete Carroll as head coach, which prompted a change at quarterback
under first-time head coach Klint Kubiak. The Raiders traded starter Geno Smith to the Jets and signed Kirk Cousins to bridge any potential gap for Mendoza to be deemed ready for the QB1 role.
General manager John Spytek and Kubiak said their "perfect world" would allow for Mendoza to be worked into the starting role gradually. Considered a cerebral field general more than a physical freak or elite specimen at quarterback, Mendoza has already openly discussed the presence of a priceless sounding board in Las Vegas: minority franchise owner Tom Brady. He read the "TB12 Method" book before the NFL Scouting Combine in preparation for a potential interaction with Brady.
That didn't come until he took his official team visit to meet the team's top brass.
"Everything that he's all about is something that I've always emulated as a football player," Mendoza said in February. "And anything the coaching staff has as coaching points, like, ‘Hey Fernando, we need you to get better at this, this and that,' I'm gonna be like, ‘Hey Tom, how do I get better at this, this and that?' If I get selected by Mr. Spytek and the Raiders, if that does happen, it'd be a great opportunity."
Mendoza is the first No. 1 pick for the Raiders since drafting LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell in 2007. The Raiders haven't won a postseason game since the 2002 playoffs and have earned only two trips (2016, 2021) since losing Super Bowl XXXVII to the Buccaneers. The Raiders also last won the AFC West division in 2002.
All of the losses have placed the Raiders in position to stock the roster with blue-chip talent in the draft. Tight end Brock Bowers (13th pick, 2024) made a record-setting splash in his first season with 112 catches for 1,194 yards. Running back Ashton Jeanty (sixth overall pick, 2025) had 10 touchdowns last season despite being an easy target behind a ragtag offensive line.
Spytek insists a 180 turn by the Raiders from 3-14 in 2025 won't be about one player or position. Las Vegas entered Thursday with 10 total draft picks and was next slated to pick at No. 36 overall, the fourth pick in the second round on Friday.
The Raiders have numerous position needs after averaging 14.2 points and allowing 25.4 points per game in 2025. The climb can be steep. As a team, the Raiders scored 40 fewer touchdowns (25) than the Rams. But the Washington Commanders and New England Patriots are living testaments to what a franchise-caliber quarterback can bring to a team.
The Commanders selected Jayden Daniels in 2024 and advanced to the NFC Championship during his rookie season. New England was in the Super Bowl in February with Drake Maye, the quarterback drafted one spot after Daniels, playing at an MVP level in a rapid rebuild.
Mendoza had 41 touchdown passes and six interceptions for Indiana last season, completing 72% of his passes to post a perfect 16-0 record not many outside the program saw coming. Indiana entered the season with the most losses in FBS history (715).
Overlooked coming out of high school, Mendoza didn't get recruited by Miami -- the team Indiana beat in the national championship game -- despite growing up about a mile from campus and leading Columbus High to a state title in 2019. He wound up at Cal and played for the Bears for two years before transferring to Indiana.
"He had a lot of success last year," Kubiak said of his early impressions of Mendoza. "He won a national championship, and that's what you want. You want a winner."
Mendoza, dressed in a black suit and silver tie, witnessed the selection surrounded by friends and family rather than attending the draft in Pittsburgh, opting to make the occasion all about those responsible for helping him make the dream sequence a reality. He thanked his mom, Elsa Mendoza, for being his biggest supporter during the Heisman Trophy acceptance speech in December. Elsa Mendoza is battling multiple sclerosis and the Mendoza family was more comfortable sharing the moment in Miami.
Mendoza revealed Thursday afternoon he was launching the Mendoza Family Fund -- a charitable fund in partnership with the National MS Society -- to raise money to fight MS. Mendoza announced he contributed a personal $500,000 donation.
--Field Level Media
