Many things with the Las Vegas Raiders date back to 2002. The good old days. A year before Fernando Mendoza was born.
That’s the last time the Raiders won a playoff game, and they’ve made the playoffs only twice since their appearance in Super Bowl XXXVII. That’s also, arguably, the last time the Raiders had elite quarterback play, with Rich Gannon winning NFL MVP. They had some good years from Derek Carr and Carson Palmer. But it has mostly been a parade of guys like Andrew Walter, Terrelle Pryor, Aidan O’Connell and Geno Smith. And, of course, JaMarcus Russell.
The Russell pick in 2007 was the only time the Raiders have held the first overall pick in the NFL Draft before this year. And this time around they took another quarterback with the first pick, this one with a better track record of college success and a much different reputation.
To no one’s surprise, the Raiders selected Mendoza with the first overall pick of the NFL Draft on Thursday night. That pick has been widely anticipated for months, after the Raiders started shutting down players in an effort to lose and clinch the top pick. Mendoza celebrated the moment with his family in Miami.
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Mendoza knows what it’s like to win, after helping Indiana to an undefeated national title as he won a Heisman Trophy along the way. The Raiders are hoping he brings some of that to their franchise, saving it from a decades-long drought. They desperately need for Mendoza to finally get them off the quarterback carousel.
Fernando Mendoza goes to the Raiders
Mendoza wasn’t an unknown before last season, but most draft analysts didn’t have him projected as a first-round pick a year ago (one exception: Yahoo Sports’ Nate Tice, who had him fourth overall and the QB1 on his 2026 big board last April). Then the 2025 season happened and everyone jumped on board.
Mendoza had the type of season that will be talked about for ages. He led Indiana, historically one of the worst football programs in FBS, to a national title. He threw for 3,535 yards with 41 touchdowns and six interceptions. He was firmly in the mix to be the top overall pick, and that was clinched when some other top quarterback prospects decided to stay in college for another year.
Mendoza hasn’t been discussed as a prospect on the same lofty level as Caleb Williams or Trevor Lawrence, among others, but he doesn’t have many weaknesses. He has good size, arm strength, toughness and accuracy. And his intangibles seem exemplary. His football IQ has been praised, as has his work ethic and ability to perform in pressure situations. There have been questions over whether he can adjust to the NFL and Raiders coach Klint Kubiak’s offense after playing in an RPO-heavy scheme at Indiana, but that’s likely a reason the Raiders seemingly don’t plan to start him in Week 1.
Mendoza might not be a perfect prospect, but the Raiders are hoping he does for their franchise what he did for the Hoosiers.
Raiders will likely delay Mendoza’s 1st start
The Raiders were excited enough to have a shot at Mendoza, or another quarterback at the top of the draft class, that they made some personnel decisions, like putting Maxx Crosby on injured reserve against the player’s wishes in a fairly obvious attempt to lose games late in the season. It worked. The Raiders got the top pick.
The Raiders haven’t invested heavily in quarterback that often. Russell in 2007, Todd Marinovich in 1991 and Marc Wilson in 1980 are the only times the Raiders have drafted a quarterback in the first round since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. Given those names, it’s accurate to say the Raiders have somehow never hit on a first-round quarterback. They’ve tried to patch it together with mid- or late-round picks or players discarded by other teams. This time, they’re paying up for Mendoza.
Even though the organization has to be excited to get Mendoza on the field, they seem ready to wait a while. The Raiders signed Kirk Cousins to what amounts to a one-year, $20 million deal in early April. Mendoza might make it impossible for the Raiders to keep him on the bench by having an outstanding training camp and preseason, but the price tag on Cousins is a clear indication that he will at least begin the regular season as Las Vegas’ starter.
The Raiders have waited a long time for an answer at quarterback, so what’s a few more weeks into the regular season?
“To think that you’re just going to take a young quarterback anywhere, starting him Week 1, and you want it to go great is naive,” Raiders general manager John Spytek said in February.
So Raiders fans will wait to see their No. 1 overall pick. Mendoza would be the first No. 1 overall pick at quarterback to not start Week 1 since Baker Mayfield in 2018. Since then Kyler Murray, Joe Burrow, Trevor Lawrence, Bryce Young, Caleb Williams and Cam Ward all began their rookie seasons as their team’s QB1.
Mendoza will break that streak. The Raiders won’t mind if he finally breaks the team’s long streak of bad quarterback play.
