The Las Vegas Raiders have been linked to Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza ever since they secured the No. 1 pick in the draft. Should they actually select him though?
Mendoza, the 2025 Heisman Trophy winner, had 3,535 passing yards and 48 total touchdowns during his only season at Indiana. With that said, ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. has him ranked as the top prospect available in this year's draft.
"Think about the biggest games, the Big Ten Championship against Ohio State, the three playoff games. He had 10 touchdowns and only one pick with a 74% completion percentage. This kid is ready for the NFL because he benefitted from 35 starts," Kiper said. "He'll be 23 in October. Think about the Raiders and that division and the AFC in general with all those great quarterbacks. This is a heck of a place to start [for the Raiders]. The future with Mendoza would look bright for Raider Nation. I'd lock it in with pen, with exclamations points."
During a recent appearance on NBC's "Today," Mendoza was asked about potentially playing for the Raiders. He definitely seemed open to that possibility.
"The Raiders have a great culture, have a great coaching staff, great ownership group. It's all around," Mendoza said. "Those are legit guys. I'd be happy to end anywhere."
Indiana's Fernando Mendoza (15) smiles as he celebrates after the College Football Playoff National Championship college football game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens on Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. © Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Even though Mendoza is the clear No. 1 quarterback in the 2026 draft class, FS1 personality Danny Parkins believes the Raiders should trade the top pick for a huge haul.
Parkins ultimately believes Mendoza is a good quarterback, but not a "can't miss" prospect.
"Given how many holes the Raiders have, and given the comp for Mendoza seems to be a Jared Goff type who's a little faster with a little worse arm... that can miss," Parkins argued.
Will the Raiders select Fernando Mendoza?
Despite the argument that Parkins presented on "First Things First," all signs point to the Raiders using the No. 1 pick on Mendoza.
That being said, Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak was very secretive about the team's draft plans when asked about Mendoza last week.
"What an opportunity," Kubiak said. "To get to go study this draft, and we'll come to that conclusion here soon. There's a lot of work to done before then, but it's another opportunity to make the roster better. Not only do you have the first-overall pick, but you're picking early in all the other rounds, too. Looking forward to attacking that process."
Mendoza is currently -10000 to be the No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft, which will take place on April 23.
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