Projected No. 1 Pick Fernando Mendoza Scheduled To Visit Raiders

It seems to be a foregone conclusion that when the 2026 NFL Draft begins on Thursday, April 23, the Las Vegas Raiders will select Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza. The selection of Mendoza is hopefully meant to usher in a new era of Raiders football under head coach Klint Kubiak and minority owner Tom Brady.

The Raiders and Mendoza, though, still have to go through all of the formalities of the draft process, including an in-person visit between the quarterback and the franchise. That has reportedly been scheduled for Tuesday, April 7, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN:

At this stage, it would be a shocking outcome for the Raiders to do anything except take Mendoza first overall. This visit is just one step closer towards that inevitable outcome.

From there, the Raiders will have who they believe if their franchise starter, and they can begin to determine how they want to handle the opening years of his professional career. They could start him right away, despite the team still having several holes and not yet ready to be competitive in a crowded AFC West.

They could also have him sit for some time behind Kirk Cousins, who the team recently signed to a lucrative one-year contract. Cousins could take the starting reps while providing veteran leadership to a young Mendoza, before he ultimately takes the reigns down the line either this season or next.

Tom Brady: Raiders have a long way to go in rebuild

The Raiders have done plenty in free agency to help turn things around, with several additions on both offense and defense.

The team signed Tyler Linderbaum to anchor the offensive line and receiver Jalen Nailor to bring in another playmaker. They also added the likes of Quay Walker, Nakobe Dean and Kwity Paye to help shore up a defense that was one of the worst in the league.

Brady, the Raiders’ minority owner, is accustomed to winning at the highest level and plans on returning the Raiders to the top of the NFL as one of the league’s premier franchises. But Brady understands there is a lot of work to be done.

Brady is right in that it will be a long process, but as he noted, it takes the entire organization from top to bottom being locked in on one accord and that seems to be the case for this Raiders franchise.