Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza's path to the Las Vegas Raiders seems preordained as he has been named an ideal fit for the franchise.
It seems like a foregone conclusion that the Las Vegas Raiders will select Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Mendoza to the Raiders just makes too much sense, even with veteran Kirk Cousins signing a contract in free agency.
Mendoza is a talented player who just won the Heisman Trophy and the national title, and he could finally give the Raiders the quarterback they have been searching for since the Derek Carr era.
James Reber, a Next Gen Stats Research Analyst for NFL.com, used some tools to identify some ideal fits for teams in the first round, and the Raiders and Mendoza were at the top of the list for obvious reasons.
"Mendoza will work to revitalize an offense that recorded the NFL's fourth-lowest dropback success rate in 2025 (40.9%) alongside a coach who propelled the Seahawks to the third-highest mark (51.6%). The young signal-caller's success at Indiana was heavily predicated on play-action, a Kubiak staple. Mendoza was also adept at finding slot receivers and tight ends over the middle of the field," Reber wrote.
All of that just screams Mendoza going to Las Vegas, and if he isn't the pick, things might get very ugly in Sin City.
Brock Bowers is a talented young tight end, and catching passes from Mendoza should be a welcome sight for the former Georgia Bulldogs star.
Mendoza's Pro Day went well, although there wasn't much he had to prove with the NFL Draft a few weeks away.
The Raiders hired Klint Kubiak, who is fresh off a run as the offensive coordinator with the Seattle Seahawks, and he is now the head coach in Las Vegas.
We can only assume that the offense will look much improved with Kubiak in town and Chip Kelly long gone, thankfully, after an ugly season (not even a full one, at that) with the Raiders as the OC under Pete Carroll.
NFL.com expert Daniel Jeremiah also has Mendoza as his top-ranked prospect, and seemingly every single mock draft that exists anywhere has Mendoza going to the Raiders, which means the draft actually starts at pick No. 2 with the New York Jets.
There have been years where the No. 1 pick was a lock, but Mendoza to the Raiders is a strikingly obvious one, for a ton of reasons.
The NFL Draft is just weeks away, and Mendoza might as well start looking for a house near Las Vegas, if he hasn't already.