The Las Vegas Raiders officially selected quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the first overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
The 22-year-old skipped attending the draft in favor of spending the night with his family in Miami, but looked very excited to join the Raiders after hearing his name announced at the podium by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
Mendoza was the consensus No. 1 pick after leading the Indiana Hoosiers to a perfect record and national championship last season. He won the Heisman Trophy for his efforts and will now look to bring his winning style of football to the Raiders.
Las Vegas is coming off a disappointing 3-14 season in which Geno Smith struggled as the starting quarterback. With the veteran quarterback now off to the New York Jets, Mendoza will hopefully bring stability to the position for years to come.
He is a natural leader with a high football IQ and should thrive in new head coach Klint Kubiak’s offensive-friendly system.
Mendoza is expected to compete with the recently-signed Kirk Cousins this summer for a chance to be the Raiders’ starting quarterback in Week 1.
Cousins could potentially hold things down for a while to allow Mendoza to develop at his own pace, but the 37-year-old said during his introductory press conference that he wants the best player out there when the Raiders begin the 2026 season.
Cousins was an important addition to the Raiders as having a veteran to mentor Mendoza, in addition to still being a capable player, should help the team no matter what path they decide to take.
Raiders’ Kirk Cousins gives his thoughts on Fernando Mendoza
Cousins has been in the NFL for 14 years now with multiple Pro Bowl appearances to his name so he should be able to help ease the transition from college to pro for Mendoza.
And while the veteran admits he hasn’t studied Mendoza’s game too much, from what he has seen the Indiana product is ahead of where he was at that same point in his career.
“I didn’t win a National Championship or a Heisman Trophy, so I sure would have loved to have that, but I think he’s, at his stage, he’s much ahead of me,” Cousins said during his introductory press conference with the Raiders. “But if you’re talking about playing with timing, playing with accuracy, wanting to understand things, have good vision of the field, good feel for the position, those are traits that I’ve always tried to pride myself on and being accountable to your teammates. I haven’t studied Fernando, but from a little bit I’ve observed from a distance watching games, I’m a Big Ten guy, watch Big Ten games, I think he has a lot of a natural feel for the position.”