The Las Vegas Raiders are entering a new era of football led by newly hired HC Klint Kubiak and their next QB. Last season, Geno Smith and Pete Carroll were a mistake of a pairing, and clearly, the Raiders also agreed. The search for a new QB is on, and having the No. 1 pick, Fernando Mendoza is the clear choice, but is that good for the prospect?
NFL Analyst Worries about the Las Vegas Raiders Selecting Fernando Mendoza
With the Raiders having the No. 1 pick, it means the team was bad enough to earn it. This is not always the best thing for a rookie; we saw it with Caleb Williams two years ago and Cam Ward this past season.
Both top picks in the draft had to deal with a circus in their rookie season, rather than entering a solidified situation where they could thrive right away.
Although the Raiders may have some great offensive pieces, such as RB Ashton Jeanty and TE Brock Bowers, they are still an incomplete team and could be compared to the 2024 Bears and the 2025 Titans.
This is a major concern for the Raiders selecting Mendoza, and NFL analyst Colin Cowherd believes it could be a major issue early in the future first overall pick’s career.
“I don’t have a Mendoza issue. I have a Mendoza to the Raiders issue.”@colincowherd wonders if Fernando Mendoza will be set up to fail with the Raiders pic.twitter.com/h2yOCpJjwT
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) February 16, 2026
Cowherd said, “I don’t worry about Fernando Mendoza; I worry about the Raiders as his parent in this league. Bad O-line, even if Klint Kubiak’s a good coach, he will probably be the fourth-best coach in his division. Ownership is inappreciative and ridiculously impatient. I don’t have a Mendoza issue. I have a Mendoza to the Raiders issue.”
Although Mendoza is far from the perfect QB prospect, which really does not exist, he deserves to be the top pick in this year’s draft.
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With how few QB options there are in the offseason and how many QB-needy teams, the value is just too high to pass up on the former Indiana QB.
Still, despite the Raiders’ constant instability, even when they had a solid starting QB in Derek Carr, they struggled to win consistently. Kubiak is a really good hire, and the roster is not horrible, but if Las Vegas drafts Mendoza and they want to put him in a situation to succeed, the roster needs upgrades.
