Inside the Raiders’ Bold Day 1 Draft Move That Changes Everything

HENDERSON, Nev.—The sun hadn’t even set on the Las Vegas valley when National Football League (NFL) Commissioner Roger Goodell stepped to the podium at exactly 5:13 PM PT to announce that the Las Vegas Raiders had selected their future franchise quarterback (QB) in Fernando Mendoza.

It was the worst-kept secret in the NFL Draft, but despite the entire world knowing it was coming, it doesn’t diminish the enormity of the pick.

Apr 23, 2026; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza is selected by the Las Vegas Raiders as the number one pick during the 2026 NFL Draft at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

A New Day

Mendoza’s journey has a wake of varying grades that he chose to ignore on his way to becoming the number one overall pick. Mendoza was a lowly rated player coming out of high school, could have gone to several other more prestigious players than Indiana, and for money, but chose to bet on himself and the superb coaching of Curt Cignetti.

I asked Mendoza tonight about the type of man, the Raider Nation was getting.

"Well, first off, I'm a man of God, and I believe that God has a plan. He's blessed my family, blessed me. I just can't thank Him enough. And second of all, I also think that fortune favors the bold, and that sometimes when you're bold and you bet on yourself, it'll work out most of the time.”

Humility is in Fashion

Mendoza is an elite player who isn’t a look-at-me type. There is no prima donna in the youngster who wasn’t willing to accept the narrative that welcomed him to the NFL and to being one of 32 starting QBs. He refused to accept that he was a starter when he hadn’t earned it.

“I can tell you right now I am not one out of 32 - although I was picked today one out of 32 - I'm not one out of 32 quarterbacks at this moment. So, I need to work every single day possible, because I'm on the bottom of the totem pole.”

Mendoza understands that tonight is only the beginning. There is a litany of players who got selected in the NFL Draft that didn’t last long.

I don’t expect him to join that group, but he understand that everything in this league is earned.

Forget the Fans, Win the Locker Room

Mendoza is fully cognizant that Raider Nation fans are great, but if he doesn’t win his locker room, winning over the fans won’t matter.

He earned brownie points moments ago when he said, "Well, I need to prove my work ethic, and I've heard Maxx Crosby has the best work ethic and it's second to none. So, I look forward to learning from him and a lot of other leaders and players on the team. “

An Eventful Day

The Raiders were active tonight as the phones rang, and while they had some interest, depending on how the draft unfolded in moving up late, there were several prospects, but not all that they had hoped would fall.

I asked Spytek about how the board unfolded and he told, me, “Fell pretty along the lines that we thought. Maybe there were some team's that valued some other players more than we do. We are still in a pretty good spot. Our board is in a pretty good spot."

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