What could Las Vegas Raiders’ 2026 NFL Draft look like after taking Fernando Mendoza No. 1?
Barring anything drastic, Fernando Mendoza will put on a silver and black cap April 23 to overwhelming cheers from his friends and family inside his Miami home.
It’s been a foregone conclusion that the Las Vegas Raiders will select the Heisman Trophy winner and national champion with the first pick in the NFL Draft. Raiders general manager John Spytek’s comments on outside interest for the pick seemed to further cement the Indiana quarterback as the team’s future at the position.
“There’s been a few calls,” Spytek said. “And those teams know where they stand.”
Spytek and Raiders assistant general manager Brian Stark took questions from reporters Tuesday ahead of the draft. Both touched on Mendoza and their quarterback situation, along with other draft topics. Here’s what we learned.
‘The best man will play’
Las Vegas appeared to create a soft landing for Mendoza when it signed Kirk Cousins in free agency last week. The addition of the veteran quarterback will allow the Raiders to not play their prospective rookie immediately and let him learn behind a four-time Pro Bowler.
Spytek said at the NFL combine in February that he’s “not necessarily in favor” of playing a young quarterback right away. But Tuesday, the general manager didn’t rule out anyone from being the Week 1 starter.
“Ultimately, this is a meritocracy and the best guy will play,” Spytek said. “It’s just really hard to play well at a young age, but we’ve seen plenty of quarterbacks do it recently. How that goes going forward here, obviously, we added Kirk, we have Aidan (O’Connell). We’ll see how it goes. But the best man will play.”
Spytek expressed excitement to have Cousins on board because of his history of strong play, familiarity with coach Klint Kubiak’s system from their time in Minnesota and veteran maturity. Despite Cousins being benched by the Falcons in 2024 and serving as their backup in 2025, Spytek said the team believes he “can still play well and play at a high level.”
In his introductory news conference last week, Cousins’ sentiment surrounding starting matched Spytek’s. The quarterback expressed that he wants to be on the field, but said “the best player needs to play.”
“If that’s not me, then I don’t want to be out there,” Cousins said last Wednesday.
Having Kirk Cousins on the roster will allow the Raiders to wait to make Fernando Mendoza the starter until he is ready. (Candice Ward / Imagn Images)
Whether Cousins, Mendoza or even O’Connell is the Raiders’ best quarterback to begin the year will be determined in training camp. But the thought that the rookie will sit to begin his career is less certain with Spytek’s latest remarks.
Eyes on being active
Spytek’s comments seem to confirm Las Vegas will stand pat with the first selection. That likely won’t be the case with its nine other picks, however.
The Raiders were among the most active teams on Day 2 of the 2025 draft — Spytek’s first as the franchise’s general manager. He traded down with both of Las Vegas’ second-round picks to net six more selections through the draft’s final two days. Spytek said he didn’t expect to move back in both spots but was pleased with the return.
“We traded back twice in the second round last year and accumulated a bunch of what we thought was really good draft capital,” Spytek said. “We’d be open to doing that again.”
Spytek could move off the No. 36 selection if the price is right. But he also has a stockpile to move up. The Raiders own six picks in the first 150 selections. They boast three fourth-round picks after receiving No. 117 from the Jaguars for Jakobi Meyers and No. 134 as a compensatory selection.
Spytek said the team will be “open to all options” when asked about trading any of its later-round picks.
“If someone’s looking to bail and we think that there’s a really high-quality player we can go get, we’ll certainly consider it,” Spytek said. “And if someone’s offering us too much to not pick, then we’ll do that, too.”
Las Vegas was among the league’s top spenders in free agency as it looks to expedite a rebuild around Mendoza and Kubiak. The Raiders could use some of those arrows in the quiver to move up for better talent and further streamline their return to success.
Class strong at need positions
The Raiders still have needs outside of quarterback to address, even with their exuberant additions from the open market. They did earn the first pick for a reason, after all.
But lucky enough for Las Vegas, it views this year’s draft class as strong in several positions where the Raiders need help.
“It feels like it’s a good safety group, there’s a good group of offensive linemen, there’s a good group of receivers, there’s some position groups that are pretty deep in the class,” Stark said. “There’s players who should have opportunity all through the draft. So, there’s good players this year for sure.”
Safety is a particular concern, as Spytek noted the Raiders have just three on their current roster. Backfield tandem Isaiah Pola-Mao and Jeremy Chinn combined for six pass breakups last season, so a young player with ball skills could help the group significantly. Spytek said there’s talent at the position throughout the class, and Las Vegas will be aggressive in adding one.
“Obviously, it’s something we’ve got to attack,” Spytek said. “I’m glad the class looks the way it does.”
The Raiders made headlines when they signed former Baltimore Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum to a three-year, $81 million contract in March — the most lucrative deal ever for an interior lineman. It’s a big get for a group that allowed the most sacks in the NFL last season (64). Spytek is pleased with how outside moves such as Linderbaum and guard Spencer Burford will improve the offensive front, but he emphasized the importance of homegrown talent at the position.
“They’re such a hard position to acquire,” Spytek said. “It’s almost impossible in free agency, it feels like, especially at certain positions. Just because we’ve added certain guys through free agency doesn’t mean that we won’t be looking for offensive linemen, too.”
Las Vegas drafted two receivers early last year in Jack Bech and Dont’e Thornton Jr., but neither made much impact as they combined for 30 catches, 359 yards and no scores. Spytek noted offseason improvement from the two, saying he sees more maturity from “two guys that are determined to make the most of the opportunity they have out in front of them.” But the general manager has also done due diligence on a plethora of pass catchers in this year’s draft and brought several top receivers in for predraft visits.
Mendoza’s name might already be etched into the card NFL commissioner Roger Goodell will use to announce the Raiders’ top selection. But expect Spytek to use a few of Las Vegas’ following nine picks to add players at safety, offensive line and receiver.
