PITTSBURGH — There was absolutely no mystery or surprise at the start of the 2026 NFL Draft as the Raiders, as expected for months, selected Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 pick Thursday night.
Mendoza, who led the undefeated Hoosiers to the 2025 College Football Playoff title and won the Heisman Trophy, became the fourth straight quarterback to garner the draft’s top selection following the Titans’ Cam Ward, the Bears’ Caleb Williams, and the Panthers’ Bryce Young.
The rapid success of those three predecessors, particularly Williams and Young, raises the expectations further for Mendoza. Already, Mendoza will be looked upon as a franchise cornerstone for a Las Vegas team that badly needs one. The Raiders have just one playoff appearance since 2017, haven’t won a postseason game since the 2002 season, and have just two winning seasons since that run to Super Bowl XXXVII 23 years ago.
Because of all of that, the story of the NFL in Las Vegas has almost been more about the Super Bowl, now set to head there for a second time in 2029. Mendoza’s pedigree of success and star power, however, presents an opportunity to change that.
Though several other NFL teams inquired in recent weeks about what it might have required to trade for the No. 1 pick, Raiders GM John Spytek shut down that discussion fairly quickly.
“We’ve gotten a few calls, and those teams know where they stand,” Spytek said.
Mendoza Is Big Business
With the No. 1 pick now official, Mendoza will sign a four-year, rookie-level contract worth $54.56 million. That pact is one of three this year that will be the first to surpass $50 million since the league’s rookie wage scale was implemented in 2011.
Like all 32 first-round picks, Mendoza’s deal will also be fully guaranteed with a team option for a fifth year. His contract is also 38% higher than the comparable pact that Williams signed with Chicago two years ago, a direct reflection of the steady growth of the NFL’s salary cap in recent seasons.
Mendoza did not travel to Pittsburgh to attend the draft in person, instead choosing to celebrate the news with family and friends in Miami.
Even with the selection of Mendoza, the Raiders also hedged their bets somewhat by recently signing veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins, who will be expected to help shepherd the rookie. The two are expected to compete for the team’s starting job to begin the season.
Mendoza, meanwhile, will also be under the tutelage of Raiders co-owner Tom Brady, a seven-time Super Bowl winner.
