The Las Vegas Raiders have the top pick in the 2026 draft, and nearly everyone has them taking a quarterback. Until this week, though, the Raiders were rumored to have a tough choice between Indiana Hoosiers QB Fernando Mendoza and Oregon Ducks quarterback Dante Moore.
Not anymore. According to multiple reports, Moore has opted out of this year’s draft, and he’ll begging back to Oregon instead.
"With this decision, mainly all my life has just been about being as most prepared as I can for any situation I go into," Moore said in a piece written by Pete Thamel of ESPN. "And when it comes to me making my decision, I just want to do what's best for my situation, especially as a quarterback.”
Moore’s recent performance in the Peach Bowl against Mendoza may have had something to do with this. While Mendoza looked polished and ready for the NFL, Moore had his struggles, including an interception and a pair of fumbles.
Yesterday was the deadline for underclassmen not playing in the College Football Playoff championship game to declare for the draft, so Moore also faced some unexpected pressure in his situation.
It’s also very likely that NIL money may have played a role. Quarterbacks like Moore no longer face an “all or nothing” situation when it comes to declaring. He can go back to Oregon and make a lot of money, although it does put the Ducks in a tough spot given that they’ve already landed a QB for next year via the transfer portal.
For the Raiders, though, this actually improves their situation, unless their scouting reports somehow had Moore rated higher than Mendoza. The Indiana product now becomes the sole NFL-ready quarterback in this year’s draft, according to nearly every expert, and Mendoza’s perceived value just got even higher. The Raiders are going to get plenty of offers now that it's a one-quarterback draft, and that will have to be part of their draft preparation process.
Would the Raiders actually trade back to get more draft capital? Probably not, but it’s worth thinking about if they can find a bridge quarterback better than Geno Smith, who was a disaster this year. The New York Jets landed a pair to first-round picks for cornerback Sauce Gardiner, for example, so Mendoza would likely be worth at least as much.
It’s an interesting proposition to put on the table, and the man likely to evaluate it is minority owner Tom Brady, who will be running the Raiders rebuild together with GM John Spytek. Brady certainly knows quarterback play better than anyone, at least on paper, but at the very least Moore’s decision just changed the complexion of this year’s draft to at least some extent.