As expected, the Las Vegas Raiders selected the Indiana Hoosiers' Heisman Trophy winner as the face of their franchise.
No surprises with the No. 1 overall selection in the 2026 NFL draft, as the Las Vegas Raiders have selected their future franchise quarterback, Indiana Hoosiers’ Fernando Mendoza. There were no controversies over the consensus top pick in this year’s draft, and the Raiders will hope to find some stability now under new head coach Klint Kubiak and Mendoza. Mendoza won the Heisman Trophy as he led the Hoosiers to an unprecedented 16-0 run and their first-ever national championship title after defeating the Miami Hurricanes 27-21.
Mendoza completed 72 percent of his passes for 3,535 yards and a nation-leading 41 touchdowns to just six interceptions. He also rushed for seven touchdowns, including an incredibly gritty fourth down 12-yard touchdown run to seal the CFP championship. He’ll look to turn around a Las Vegas franchise that went a measly 3-14 last season, leading to the firing of coach Pete Carroll after just one season with the franchise. However, there isn’t immediate pressure on him to do that with the team signing Kirk Cousins this offseason. Best case scenario, Mendoza is ready for the fire. There’s not really a worst case scenario with Cousins as a credible veteran option ready to slot in.
Here is the full story from Raiders Roundtable writer Stephen Mottram on the team's quarterback of the future.
Mendoza has a trait that can’t be quantified: he’s just a winner. The team’s run through the CFP was incredibly dominant – they never trailed in one of their three games played to win the title. It’ll take a lot more to win in Las Vegas, but the new regime has their new franchise quarterback.