Las Vegas Raiders select Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza No. 1 overall in 2026 NFL draft

MIAMI GARDENS, FL - JANUARY 19: QB Fernando Mendoza #15 of the Indiana Hoosiers smiles on the trophy stage after the Indiana Hoosiers versus the Miami Hurricanes College Football Playoff National Championship Game Presented by AT&T on January 19, 2026, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, FL. (Photo by Doug Murray/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

With the first pick of the 2026 NFL draft, the Las Vegas Raiders selected former Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza.

This comes as no surprise since the 2025 Heisman Trophy winner has been linked to the Raiders for several months after leading the Hoosiers to a National Championship in January. Mendoza cemented himself as the top quarterback in the draft class during the College Football Playoffs, taking down three potential usurpers to the throne: Alabama’s Ty Simpson, Oregon’s Dante Moore (returned to school) and Miami’s Carson Beck.

Meanwhile, Las Vegas has been looking for the next future of the franchise for several years now. Ever since moving on from Derek Carr at the end of the 2022 season, the Raiders have had eight different starting quarterbacks and a new Week 1 starter every year. That, combined with Mendoza’s postseason run, helped make general manager John Spytek’s decision at the top of this year’s draft an easy one.

Now that Mendoza is officially heading to Las Vegas, he’s expected to compete for the starting job. The Cal transfer’s decision-making and accuracy project to make him a good fit in new head coach Klint Kubiak’s offense, and .