The Las Vegas Raiders prepare to make a statement with Fernando Mendoza of the Indiana Hoosiers in the upcoming 2026 NFL draft. Following another disappointing season, the AFC West squad got the No. 1 pick in April.
Barring something extraordinary, they will go with the young quarterback. He made the case as the best in this year’s class, although some have insisted that Ty Simpson is the better prospect.
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Amid doubts and criticism aimed at Mendoza, the Raiders want to protect him as much as possible. They reportedly want to pair him with a veteran quarterback to bridge him. New head coach Klint Kubiak told reporters at the annual league meeting on Tuesday that he would prefer to see a rookie quarterback sit and learn before throwing him to the wolves without any preparation.
“I think in a perfect world, he’s watching a mature adult go and run an offense and run the team,” Kubiak said, via NBC Sports. “But, the situation is, you might have that player, you might not have that veteran to show him the way. So he might come in and have to play immediately. But you’d rather him learn, learn before he gets in the game. You don’t always get to pick. It doesn’t work out the exact way you want it to. But at the end of the day, you want to make sure you’re bringing in an individual, drafting a guy that’s mature enough to handle some adversity — whether it’s him starting the first game or him starting the first game Year 2.
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“Sometimes they have to play from Day 1,” Kubiak later added. “It’s our job as a coach to get them ready to go. I think it does help the player, though, if they can sit behind a mature adult and watch how they run the show.”
Las Vegas has been linked with multiple veterans in recent weeks. Joe Flacco, Kirk Cousins and even Aaron Rodgers have been mentioned as potential targets for the Raiders. Additionally, the Raiders still have Aidan O’Connell on the roster.
It seems that they will be careful with Fernando Mendoza, one of the most exciting prospects in recent times.
