The Las Vegas Raiders signed an undrafted rookie WR who played with Fernando Mendoza and played high school ball in Vegas.
The Las Vegas Raiders are going to do whatever it takes to make things work for former Indiana Hoosiers star Fernando Mendoza.
The Raiders unsurprisingly took the Heisman Trophy winner at No. 1 overall in the 2026 NFL Draft, and Mendoza is already making himself known in Las Vegas.
Whether or not he starts Week 1 remains to be seen, but the Raiders invested on the offense in hopes of adding plenty of talent around him.
On Monday, the Raiders added a familiar face for Mendoza, with wide receiver Jonathan Brady signing a deal with the franchise.
Brady spent the beginning of his college career at New Mexico State before transferring and joining the California Golden Bears.
In 2024, Brady caught 36 passes for 386 yards and three touchdowns with Mendoza running the show in Berkeley.
Brady then transferred to Indiana with Mendoza for the 2025 season, and Brady had 14 catches for 115 yards with three scores, although the Hoosiers had plenty of mouths to feed.
Brady was the Hoosiers' primary punt returner in 2025, so that could be where he finds most of his value, although he has a relationship with Mendoza from the previous two seasons.
Here's another fun fact: Brady is from Las Vegas and played at Bishop Gorman High School.
Brady was part of the Raiders' rookie minicamp, and he joins former Indiana teammates Roman Hemby and EJ Williams on the Raiders roster, at least for now.
Malik Benson, the Oregon Ducks WR, was selected in the sixth round by the Raiders, so he and Brady could compete for touches in the returning game.
The Raiders also selected Arkansas running back Mike Washington Jr. in the 2026 NFL Draft, giving them a solid backup option to 2025 first-round choice Ashton Jeanty.
Mendoza has familiarity with EJ Williams Jr., the Indiana WR who signed an UDFA deal with the Raiders.
Williams caught 36 passes for 438 yards with six scores for Indiana last season, and now he gets to work with Mendoza again.
The Raiders offseason haul also included signing former Baltimore Ravens Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum, and new head coach Klint Kubiak will likely have his fingerprints on the offense after he engineered the offense for the Seattle Seahawks this past season.
So far, the Raiders are adding plenty of talent for Mendoza to work with, and bringing in former Indiana players is also a hat tip to the Heisman Trophy winner.