Ryan McFadden
Multiple Authors
The Las Vegas Raiders selected former Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft Thursday night.
Mendoza became the first quarterback taken in the opening round by the Raiders since 2007, when they selected JaMarcus Russell at No. 1.
The Raiders’ selection of Mendoza seemed inevitable after they secured the top pick by going 3-14 under former coach Pete Carroll in 2025. Carroll was fired after his only season with the Raiders, then former starting quarterback Geno Smith was traded to the New York Jets last month.
Raiders owner Mark Davis said in February that part of the reason they hired new coach Klint Kubiak was the possibility of taking an offensive player in the first round — and that they wanted that player to grow with the former Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator.
Mendoza visited Las Vegas on April 7, which also was the first day of the Raiders’ offseason workout program. The 2025 Heisman Trophy winner spoke with the Raiders at the scouting combine, virtually and after Indiana’s pro day April 1. Las Vegas sent a large contingent, including general manager John Spytek and Kubiak, to Bloomington to watch Mendoza and other Hoosiers in attendance.
Mendoza is the 30th quarterback selected No. 1 in the common draft era (since 1967). A quarterback has been selected No. 1 eight times in the past nine years, which is a first in the common draft era.
Mendoza was a three-star recruit in high school. After he began his college career at California, the South Florida native transferred to Indiana for the 2025 season, and his draft stock skyrocketed. He was instrumental in the Hoosiers going 16-0 and winning the program’s first national title.
Mendoza finished his only season at Indiana with career highs in passing yards (3,535), touchdown passes (41), completion rate (72%) and total QBR (90.3).
Mendoza will compete with 15th-year veteran Kirk Cousins and fourth-year player Aidan O’Connell to be Las Vegas’ starter. Even though the Raiders’ top brass would prefer not to start a rookie quarterback right away, Spytek said the best player will play at the end of the day.
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