The Las Vegas Raiders are more than likely going to select Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL draft, but he might not play right away.
We have officially hit April, which means the National Football League draft is later this month.
All eyes are on the Las Vegas Raiders, which have the coveted No. 1 pick after a disappointing 3-14 season. Everyone knows that the Raiders are going to take the top quarterback prospect in the draft, Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza, but the organization has been doing its homework and is insistent that there’s still a lot to look over leading up to the draft.
“We are going to go through the process,” Spytek said Tuesday at the NFL league meeting. “We are going to his pro day on Wednesday. He's going to come in for a top-30 visit. We're going to have a couple more Zooms that we still have to do with him, and a lot of other prospects, too.”
It’s hard to imagine a universe where the Raiders don’t select Mendoza with the first pick on April 23, but Las Vegas theoretically could choose to go in another direction (although that would be a bad decision). The organization likes what it sees from Mendoza and the traits he possesses, but there’s growing speculation that the Raiders might not start Mendoza right away.
New head coach Klint Kubiak is a coach that values rookie QBs learning from a seasoned veteran QB before being thrown into the fire.
“Raiders coach Klint Kubiak called Mendoza a ‘winner’ but said in his perfect world that a first-year quarterback would not immediately start and would spend time learning behind a more seasoned veteran,” ESPN’s Lindsey Thiry wrote Tuesday.
This leads into what ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler heard during the NFL league meeting. Fowler reported that the Raiders bringing in a veteran QB to pair with Mendoza is a real possibility and Kirk Cousins is “considered the prime option.” Cousins wasn’t the initial target, as Las Vegas attempted to ink Joe Flacco to a deal before he opted to stick with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Now, the Raiders hope to sign Cousins, who may be drawing interest from the Los Angeles Rams as well.
“Cousins' name came up a few times when I asked about what the Raiders might do next, though the Rams are a possibility for Cousins, too,” wrote Fowler.
Cousins would certainly be a solid player for Mendoza to gain knowledge from, especially because like Flacco, he embodies the pocket-passer play-style that Mendoza plays with. In his career, Cousins is 88-77-2 with a 66.7 completion percentage, 44,700 passing yards, 298 touchdowns and 131 interceptions through 14 seasons in the NFL.
If the Raiders do sign Cousins and have him start to begin the season, it’s unclear when we would see Mendoza get his first reps in the NFL.