Roger Goodell, boos and a terrible NFL Draft omen for the Raiders and Fernando Mendoza

Roger Goodell, boos and a terrible NFL Draft omen for the Raiders and Fernando Mendoza originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Roger Goodell will be booed before he announces the Las Vegas Raiders' (presumed) pick of Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza in the No. 1 overall spot of the 2026 NFL Draft.

That's normal, but a look back at Goodell's draft history has a bad omen for the Raiders.

You have to go back to Goodell's first draft as the NFL's commissioner. It was 2007, and the Oakland Raiders were on the clock with the first pick.

They chose JaMarcus Russell out of LSU.

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He became one of the biggest busts in NFL history.

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Now to be totally clear, there's no way that a pick 19 years ago has any bearing on how Mendoza turns out for the Raiders.

He grew into a surefire NFL prospect in his time with the Hoosiers, and he'll get every chance to succeed with the Raiders -- who even brought in veteran mentor Kirk Cousins to help along the way.

But long-time fans of the Raiders surely wouldn't mind not having to think too much about Russell (sorry about that). He's not exactly a good memory for the franchise.

There's no reason to think that Mendoza will be a bust.

But 19 years ago, there was Goodell for the first time, getting booed and announcing Russell's name. The rest is history.