Despite all signs pointing to the Raiders selecting quarterback Fernando Mendoza No. 1 overall in the 2026 NFL Draft, Las Vegas general manager John Spytek has fielded calls from teams inquiring about the availability of the pick.
“We’ve gotten a few calls, and those teams know where they stand,” Spytek said Tuesday at his pre-draft news conference.
The NFL draft will be held April 23-25 in Pittsburgh.
Spytek, who stated that he is keeping an open mind regarding trade offers, also addressed the topic of deals materializing during draft night.
“If there’s a player that stands out that we feel it’s not worth losing, it’s not worth even picking up the phone, then we’ll just make the pick,” Spytek said. “But if it’s a player that we’re not as excited about, or there’s a group of players that we would love to pick from and we can get value for that, we’re certainly open to listening to that.”
If the Raiders do select Mendoza, the former Indiana star and reigning Heisman Trophy winner would be the 30th quarterback to go No. 1 overall in the common draft era, which began in 1967.
Mendoza, who guided the Hoosiers to a 16-0 record and their first national title in football in 2025, would be competing with veterans Kirk Cousins and Aidan O’Connell in Las Vegas. Along with new head coach Klint Kubiak, Spytek would rather see a rookie QB begin as a backup to a veteran.
“Ultimately, this is a meritocracy, and the best guy will play,” Spytek said. “It’s just really hard to play really well at a young age. But we’ve seen plenty of quarterbacks do it recently. We added Kirk, we have Aidan, and we’ll see how it goes.”
