The NFL draft is only a couple of months away, and fans are excited as ever.
The NFL draft will take place on April 23-25 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The draft returns to Pittsburgh for the first time in nearly 80 years, last seen in 1947.
The top five of the draft are set, with the Las Vegas Raiders holding the first selection. The rest of the draft is as follows: New York Jets at No. 2, Arizona Cardinals at No. 3, Tennessee Titans at No. 4, and the New York Giants at No. 5.
The projected top pick is the Quarterback out of Indiana, Fernando Mendoza. According to Footballscout365.com, “Mendoza’s command of Indiana’s pro-style/RPO and ability to diagnose coverage post-snap have drawn comparisons to modern system passers like Jared Goff.”
Mendoza stands 6’5 and weighs 225. Every mock draft you can think of has Mendoza at one to the Raiders, and it seems like a very intriguing spot for him to go to.
Mendoza officially declared for the NFL draft on Friday, Jan. 23, officially entering his name into NFL draft boards.
The Raiders have been looking for their franchise Quarterback (QB) ever since the departure of long-time starter Derek Carr in 2023. Mendoza would immediately walk into an offense full of stars. Rookie running back Ashton Jeanty would be headed into his second season, and under an atrocious offensive line in 2025, he still managed to rush for nearly 1,000 yards and averaged 3.7 yards per carry (YPC).
Second year Tight End (TE) Brock Bowers finished his second season with Las Vegas and was injured for most of the year. Even though he was injured, he was still able to collect 680 yards and seven touchdowns in only 12 games.
This season, Las Vegas had one of the worst wide receiver (WR) cores in the NFL statistically. The top receiver for the Raiders was Tre Tucker, who finished the season with 57 catches for 696 yards and five touchdowns. A midseason trade sent the wide receiver 1 (WR1)Jakobi Meyers to the Jacksonville Jaguars, receiving a 2026 4th rounder and a 2026 6th rounder in return.
Mendoza had a historic past season at Indiana, his team finished as undefeated national champions, and Mendoza won the Heisman trophy, the highest honor as a player.
