With the first pick of the 2026 NFL draft, the Las Vegas Raiders selected former Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza.
This comes as no surprise since the 2025 Heisman Trophy winner has been linked to the Raiders for several months after leading the Hoosiers to a National Championship
in January. Mendoza cemented himself as the top quarterback in the draft class during the College Football Playoffs, taking down three potential usurpers to the throne: Alabama’s Ty Simpson, Oregon’s Dante Moore (returned to school) and Miami’s Carson Beck.
Meanwhile, Las Vegas has been looking for the next future of the franchise for several years now. Ever since moving on from Derek Carr at the end of the 2022 season, the Raiders have had eight different starting quarterbacks and a new Week 1 starter every year. That, combined with Mendoza’s postseason run, helped make general manager John Spytek’s decision at the top of this year’s draft an easy one.
Now that Mendoza is officially heading to Las Vegas, he’s expected to compete for the starting job. The Cal transfer’s decision-making and accuracy project to make him a good fit in new head coach Klint Kubiak’s offense, and he’s already been taking steps to learn the playbook.
However, the Raiders recently signed Kirk Cousins, who played for Kubiak from 2019 to 2021 with the Minnesota Vikings, to serve as the “bridge-gap” starter in case the rookie isn’t ready. So, Mendoza will have to earn the job in training camp, or Raider Nation might have to wait a few weeks to see his first regular-season start. Regardless, the 22-year-old is set to be the future of the franchise and is tasked with returning the Raiders to their winning ways; it’s just a matter of when he officially takes over the reins.
Barring a trade-up, Las Vegas won’t be on the clock again until Friday, owning the 36th overall selection/fourth pick of the second round. The club also holds pick 67, the third pick of the third round, on Day 2 of the draft. Coverage begins on NFL Network, ESPN and ABC at 4:00 p.m., and Silver and Black Pride will have updates for every pick that the Raiders make throughout the weekend.
