Fernando Mendoza era begins for Raiders after taking quarterback with No. 1 pick

The Raiders have their franchise quarterback.

Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza is headed to Las Vegas, where he projects to be the Raiders’ starter at the most important position in football for years to come. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced the reigning Heisman Trophy winner and national champion as the Raiders’ top overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft this evening in Pittsburgh.

"When I saw that call, I got a whole lot of chills over my entire body and I was ecstatic," Mendoza said in a conference call with reporters shortly after the selection. "However, I understand this is not the end of the journey. Although this is a celebration, this is a start of a new thing." 

Unlike what has typically been the practice of No. 1 picks, Mendoza did not attend the event live to shake hands with Goodell and partake in media. The 22-year-old held a watch party for family and friends in his hometown of Miami.

"I love Pittsburgh and would have loved to have been there, I want to be a great rep for the NFL," Mendoza said. "But, I mean, the Raiders are No. 1 to me and it's really easy from my mom to go from here to Las Vegas."

Mendoza and his family, including his mother Elsa who's confined to a wheelchair with multiple sclerosis, are expected to fly into Henderson in the morning where he'll spend his first of many days at team headquarters as an official member of the Raiders. Mendoza previously visited the facility as part of the team’s “top 30 visits,” where they’re allowed to host NFL Draft prospects of their choice.

"My first time being there," Mendoza described his visit earlier this month. "I was like, ‘Wow, this is amazing,’ and this is everything it's lived up to be and even better. So, I look forward to the city. It looks like everyone's really friendly. There's a lot of great cities outside of the Strip and the Strip talks for itself."

The entire football world expected the 6-foot-5, 236-pound Mendoza to go first overall ever since the draft order was set, though Raiders general manager John Spytek said it wasn't quite that simple. Speaking on a Raiders.com live stream minutes after the pick, Spytek said it wasn't until recent weeks that the team fully decided it would commit to Mendoza.

“We did not begin with the end in mind," Spytek said. "This was not a coronation but, every step of the way, he kept checking boxes. I saw him three times in person — once in the fall, the playoff games, he played really well in all those games. I had a chance to visit with him at the combine, went to Bloomington to see his Pro Day, spent time with him, went to dinner with him and brought him here to Las Vegas and had a great day with him here too."

Las Vegas had a glaring need at quarterback after it tried a trio of failed veteran experiments — Geno Smith, Gardner Minshew and Jimmy Garoppolo — in the past three seasons.

The last six quarterbacks drafted No. 1 overall have begun the season as their respective team's starter, but Spytek said that assignment would not be handed to Mendoza. Las Vegas also signed veteran Kirk Cousins in free agency, and still has forth-year former starter Aidan O'Connell on the roster.  

“He’s going to be willing to give his best to Raider Nation, he’s going to compete his tail off with Kirk and with Aidan," Spytek said. "And, as we’ve said: This is a meritocracy. This is the NFL. The best guy will play. How fast he gets up to speed and starts pushing those guys, we’ll see. That will be a lot up to Fernando too. We expect him to come in ready to roll. That’s the kind of person he is.”

It’s the first time the Raiders have both drafted a quarterback in the first round and selected with the top overall pick since 2007, when they infamously went with JaMarcus Russell.

The LSU product lasted only three years with the franchise, going 7-18 as a starter while throwing for 23 interceptions to 18 touchdowns, and went down as one of the biggest busts in draft history.

Expectations are much higher for Mendoza, who’s renowned for a work ethic he says he’s modeled after current Raiders minority owner/ de facto president of football operations Tom Brady.

"I think it's a huge edge for the football club to have such a source of knowledge, intelligence, and experience all in one, especially as an owner," Mendoza said of Brady. "It's something very rare that you get. So, I'm looking forward to diving in, getting all the resources I can from him and learning from him, the great coaches and the other great players we have on the team."

Mendoza threw for 3,535 yards and 41 touchdowns to seven interceptions and ran for 276 yards and 11 touchdowns during his recently concluded Heisman and championship season with the Hoosiers.

He ascended throughout his college career after starting for two years at California, one of the few major programs that offered him a scholarship as a lightly recruited prospect out of Christopher Columbus High School in South Florida.

The Raiders have everything in place for him to continue his rise locally starting in his first year as a professional.

"I believe I'm still the underdog," Mendoza said. "Although the draft was today, once I got drafted, I'm now part of the NFL, and I can tell you right now  — although I was picked today No. 1 out of 32 - I'm not No. 1 out of 32 quarterbacks at this moment. So, I need to work every single day possible because I'm on the bottom of the totem pole."