After winning the College Football National Championship on Monday and declaring for the 2026 NFL draft on Friday, the buzz surrounding Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza and the Las Vegas Raiders picked up a notch this week. Also, the Raiders are still looking for their next head coach and free agency is steadily approaching, leading us into this week’s mailbag!
Q: What do you think of using the majority of the cap space this year to put vets around Mendoza on offense? I like the thought of adding
two OL and Alec Pierce (NFL Charlie Becker, lol) around Mendoza, then building the defense through the draft with players in the 2nd/3rd like Akheem Mesidor and maybe D’Angelo Ponds.
A: I think we’re on pretty much the same page here. I’d like the Raiders to get younger this offseason and primarily target free agents who are looking for their second NFL contract, but the offensive line is the one exception to that.
With a young quarterback, I’d have no problem seeing the Raiders spend big (and probably overpay) for experienced offensive linemen to make sure Mendoza is well-protected. That’s one of the beauties of having a quarterback on a rookie contract: a team has more flexibility for expensive contracts at other spots on the roster since the quarterback isn’t eating up a significant portion of the cap space.
For example, Cam Ward has an $11.1 million cap hit next season, and that’s a big reason why the Tennessee Titans enter the offseason with more cap space than any other team in the league and by over $11 million, per Over the Cap. The Raiders are currently second with $82.4 million, by the way.
At wide receiver, that’s a tricky need for me. More on that later. Las Vegas should prioritize the line and add one or two starters in free agency, as you mentioned, but I wouldn’t mind the front office going after Pierce on top of a couple of linemen. That’d give Mendoza a legitimate downfield threat who is coming off a career year and is only 26 years old.
As for the draft, this year’s class is heavier on the defensive prospects compared to the offensive guys, and I like both the players you named. Mesidor is getting some first-round love after an impressive CFP run, but he is going to be a 25-year-old rookie and has had a lingering foot injury, which could push him into round two. I’ll be interested to see how Ponds performs at the Senior Bowl next week, but I think he has the traits to be a good nickelback in the NFL.
Q: Assuming the Raiders choose to use their #36 pick for the OL, who are your top candidates for that selection?
A: On a similar but different note, if Las Vegas opts to use the draft to address the offensive line, here are a few guys I’d be interested in at No. 36:
- G Olaivavega Ioane, Penn State (likely a first-rounder, though)
- G Emmanuel Pregnon, Oregon
- G Chase Bisontis, Texas A&M
- OT Monroe Freeling, Georgia
Obviously, that’s heavy on the interior line, but this tackle isn’t very good. There are a couple of third-round options who could fill in at right tackle, though. Clemson’s Blaker Miller and Iowa’s Gennigs Dunker, but Dunker might slide inside in the NFL.
A: Onto the wide receiver dilemma. After spending second- and fourth-round picks on wideouts last year, I have a hard time seeing John Spytek using anything more than a Day 3 pick on the position this April. Yes, Jack Bech and Dont’e Thornton Jr. had underwhelming rookie seasons, but they also didn’t get much playing time. That makes it hard to know what the Raiders have in them (thanks, Pete!), and Bech at least showed some promise in his limited opportunities, in my opinion. So, I think signing someone like Pierce is more realistic than using another Top 100 draft pick out wide.
You mentioned Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase, so I’ll throw this scenario that I’ve been dreaming of for the last month. How about pairing Mendoza with Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith after the 2027 draft?
I’m not expecting much from Las Vegas next season, so I think the organization will have another high pick next year. If that quarterback class ends up being as good as a lot of people seem to be making it out to be right now, then the Raiders should have a clear path to draft Smith, who will be one of the best wide receiver prospects in like a decade. Also, Mendoza has drawn comparisons to Matt Ryan while Smith’s early comp is Julio Jones, and that duo worked out pretty well for the Atlanta Falcons.
The route I’d go with to address the wide receiver room is see what Bech and Thornton can do with bigger opportunities next season and take it from there. If they don’t rise to the occasion, then I set my sights on Smith in next year’s draft.
A: I’ll say this, I like taking Omar Cooper in the third round more than Elijah Sarratt in the second. Between the two Indiana receivers, I think Cooper’s the better value pick, and his game translates to the NFL more with his YAC ability. I get the idea of giving Mendoza a target he’s familiar with, but I’d rather see the Raiders add defensive players this spring after loading up on offense during last year’s draft.
A: Mendoza’s game is centered around being good within the structure of the play call, and he isn’t someone like Caleb Williams, who is going to make the ridiculous backyard football style of plays to bail the offense out consistently. In other words, don’t expect Mendoza to scramble around and throw a 40-yard heave into the endzone on fourth and four from the 14-yard line like we saw Williams do last weekend.
But I do think Mendoza’s ability to create is underrated. He’s good at making defenders pay when they don’t plaster to their man on scramble drills, and is athletic enough to move the chains with his legs. The latter was on display against a very talented Miami defense on Monday night. So, I don’t think the off-script stuff is going to be his calling card in the NFL, but it’s not as if he can’t do it at all.
In my opinion, Mendoza’s biggest strength is his poise. Whether it’s facing pressure in the pocket or the pressure of a big moment in the game, he doesn’t back down and that was apparent all season. His biggest weakness is that he’s not the physical freak that people have become enamoured with in recent years. Again, I think he has a good arm and is a solid athlete, but does Mendoza have the same physical gifts as a guy like Josh Allen? No. That being said, the Allen we know now isn’t the same guy who came out of Wyoming.
Q: Who would be your top three head coach candidates and why?
A: I wrote an article earlier this week, ranking my top five choices among the candidates the Raiders have interviewed. I’ll hyperlink it here, and a ‘related’ link is below if you want to check it out. Jesse Minter was No. 3 on my list, so now that he’s out of the running, I’d move Joe Brady into the top five.
I still have questions about Mendoza’s fit in Brady’s offense, but he’s at least a younger offensive mind who has been coaching long enough that he should have a decent network to build a solid coaching staff. Plus, Brady does have a good track record of working with quarterbacks, developing Joe Burrow at LSU and helping Josh Allen become an MVP.
Q: Of the remaining HC candidates that the Raiders are considering, who do you think would be the best fit for Mendoza?
A: Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak.
Mendoza would be a good fit in the Kyle Shanahan/Sean McVay style of offense, and Kubiak comes from that coaching tree. He worked for Shanahan in 2023, and the Kubiaks and Shanahans go way back. Their dads, Gary and Mike, worked together for over a decade in the 90s and early 2000s.
Plus, Mendoza has been compared to a couple of quarterbacks that Kubiak has had success with: Kirk Cousins and Sam Darnold. I think there’s a reason why Seattle’s OC landing in Las Vegas has gained some steam this week. It seems like he’s Tom Brady and Co.‘s top guy.
Q: Are there any particular candidates who are interviewing, or have interviewed, that you think will find the Raiders job most appealing? Or is the job kind of a back-burner for most of these candidates?
A: It depends on how they view Mendoza. I think anyone from the Shanahan/McVay tree will find Vegas attractive, which includes Kubiak, Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur and San Francisco 49ers OC Klay Kubiak, all of whom have interviewed once. And I’m sure young guys like Rams’ passing game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase and Denver Broncos’ PGC Davis Webb would jump at the opportunity to be a head coach.
Also, the Raiders’ next head coach will have the unique ability to build the majority of the roster in their vision, while collaborating with Spytek, of course. That makes it an attractive destination in an ego-driven profession since the coach will get credit for turning the program around. However, candidates will need to have assurance that management will be patient, which is the biggest and hardest obstacle the Raiders have to overcome in this search. That means a long-term and expensive contract will have to be on the table.
Q: What’s your opinion on Brandon Aiyuk? Should the Raiders try to trade for him and what would it take?
A: I had a feeling this would come up at some point in the offseason, and my answer is: stay the hell away!
After a long and drawn-out contract negotiation a few years ago, the 49ers paid Aiyuk the money he was looking for, and he still wasn’t happy. Also, he wasn’t playing well after getting a new contract in 2024 and is coming off a significant knee injury, so there isn’t a guarantee that Aiyuk is the same player he was two seasons ago. To me, the talent isn’t worth the headache, especially with a young locker room.
A: Kolton Miller (left tackle) and Jackson Powers-Johnson (center) are the only guys I’d pencil in as starters next season. Caleb Rogers is capable of earning a starting spot, but I’d still bring in some competition at guard. On that note, I slide DJ Glaze inside and see how he performs there. Then, let Charles Grant battle with an offseason addition at right tackle.
I wouldn’t mind keeping Alex Cappa as a veteran backup. He’s not that expensive, and at least the Raiders would have someone with starting experience to turn to in a pinch. Also, I’d be okay with letting Dylan Parham and Jordan Meredith walk in free agency. Those two don’t move the needle much for me.
I touched on a few draft options above and listed a few free agent targets in last week’s column.
I’ll listen to Q Myers’ Locked On Raiders podcast occasionally, but I don’t really tune into many other Raiders’ content creators. It’s nothing against them; there are some good ones out there from what I’ve seen. But I spend so much time focusing on the Raiders that if I’m going to listen to a podcast or watch any breakdowns, it’s going to be to find out what’s going on with other teams in the league or around the draft.
Q: Do you think we can expect a decent bounce-back year from the Raiders’ offensive line with better coaching? Not saying they are stuffed with talent or anything, but it sounds like coaching was a huge limiter.
A: I wouldn’t expect Las Vegas to have a dramatic turnaround next season, but I do think they can get back to being at least an average unit with better coaching. It’s pretty clear that Brennan Carroll was in over his head and not qualified for the position, especially after that ESPN report leaked a couple of weeks ago. If the Raiders can get someone who can develop JPJ, Rogers and Glaze, then all the line needs is one more guy on the interior to have a solid five in the trenches. And, as mentioned several times above, there are plenty of opportunities to add some talent this offseason!
That’ll do it for this week’s mailbag. Thank you all for submitting questions and, as your weekly reminder, if you’d like to have your questions answered in a future column, tweet them at me, @MHolder95, email them to SBPQuestions1@gmail.com or look for our weekly call for questions on the site. The latter will continue to publish on Thursdays.
