The greatness of the Raiders is in its future. And the future has now arrived.
Those 8 or so minutes that we just sat through were a mere formality. The Las Vegas Raiders have known for months that they were going to take Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, and they finally put pen to paper on Thursday night and turned in the card.
For the first time since 2007, the Raiders kicked off the NFL Draft, and they made it count. The former Hoosiers quarterback, who won the Heisman Trophy and led his team to a National Championship last season, should be headed to Las Vegas on a private jet tomorrow morning.
As we live and breathe, Raider Nation, Mendoza is a member of the Silver and Black. And patience will be required as the young quarterback learns the ropes in the NFL, but it's not an overstatement to say that he has the ability to return this franchise to its glory days, even if that's not the expectation.
Las Vegas Raiders make expected pick of Fernando Mendoza to kick off 2026 NFL Draft
Klint Kubiak, the Raiders' first-time head coach, is now on the same timeline as Mendoza. The two are attached at the hip. And he'll be tasked with developing the most crucial piece of infrastructure for the organization's sucess over the next few years.
Las Vegas could have kicked the quarterback can down the road another year or relied on veteran Kirk Cousins to keep the team afloat for another year. But Kubiak got his guy in Mendoza, who should be a natural fit in a system that requires quick decisions, coachability and pinpoint accuracy.
Mendoza will have his work cut out for him when he arrives in Sin City, as not only does the daunting nature of an NFL schedule await him, but so, too, does a quarterback battle with Cousins, a veteran with plenty of experience in the system that Mendoza now needs to learn.
The Raiders aren't exactly a finished product in terms of roster-building, either. The offensive line, although improved, may still need an addition and some serious work. The running game, as of right now, is a mess, and the wide receiver corps is talented but unproven. That's a lot to overcome.
Plenty has also been said about his reliance on RPOs in college, his struggles under pressure and his inability to make plays off-script or target the center of the field. But there's something about being the undisputed best quarterback, and perhaps prospect in the draft, that welcomes such criticism.
Anyone who had Mendoza under a microscope throughout the pre-draft process should have also noticed that not only is his body NFL-ready, but he has a downright elite frame. His lower half is solid, he's tall, long and heavy, and Mendoza's hands are big enough to quell any concerns.
He is surgically accurate, hitting his targets perfectly in stride or throwing it where the defender can't touch it. Mendoza carries that ability when throwing on all three levels, and the tighter the field gets, the better he plays. Mendoza is deadly in the red zone, always finding paydirt and avoiding turnovers
While he's not a true dual-threat, Mendoza is more than capable of toting the rock and converting on key downs. He is tough as nails and frequently hangs in there just long enough to deliver a beautiful pass, but not before taking a major hit. But he pops back up, and that is why his teammates love him.
His quirky personality and leadership skills will endear him to the fanbase and locker room, and his unrelenting work ethic, his need to frenetically prepare and his desire to be the greatest, like Tom Brady, is what will win over the coaching staff and make him a great NFL quarterback.
People can say what they want about Mendoza. But his body and physical ability dictate that he'll have success at the NFL level, and it's hard to think of a quarterback prospect who has it more between the ears than he does. Plus, he has that clutch factor that every team wants its QB to have.
But the best part about Mendoza? He is finally, officially, unequivocally, without a shadow of a doubt, a Raider.
Welcome to The Dark Side, Fernando.