The Las Vegas Raiders hold the keys to the 2026 NFL Draft. And while all signs continue to point toward Fernando Mendoza going No. 1 overall, general manager John Spytek is doing his best to keep the league guessing.
Raiders GM John Spytek Leaves Door Open for Trade While Holding Firm on Draft Conviction
Spytek made it clear that while the Raiders are expected to stay put, they are far from closed for business.
“We’ve gotten a few calls, and those teams know where they stand right now… I think it starts with, ‘Are we going to make the pick?’ And if there’s a player that stands out that we feel is not worth losing, is not worth even picking up the phone, then we’ll just make the pick.
“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, then certainly open to listening to that.”
Some might say it’s typical GM-speak. No one will show the cards they are dealing with until it’s the right moment, and that’s what Spytek is trying to do.
He added, “I think when you go on the clock, unless you’re super convinced that you’re making the pick, you kind of just sit there and wait for a little bit and see if your phone will ring.
“And sometimes, you can get really good trade offers that maybe you didn’t expect and other times your phone doesn’t ring, so then you just pick. But we try to be open-minded. We try to give ourselves as much time as allotted to make the best decision for the Raiders. And we traded back twice in the second round last year and accumulated a bunch of what we thought was really good draft capital, and we’d be open to doing that again.”
That philosophy extends beyond just the top pick. When asked about potentially moving around the board again, particularly after last year’s aggressive maneuvering in the second round, Spytek doubled down on flexibility.
“Open to all options. I didn’t think that we were going to trade down twice in the second-round last year, and we felt like the trade offers that we got were just too good to pass up. And if someone’s looking to bail and we think that there’s a really high-quality player we can go get, we’ll certainly consider it. And if someone’s offering us too much to not pick, then we’ll do that too.”
Still, no one’s going to actually bite the fact that Mendoza is NOT their first pick. He’s a clear No. 1 overall for them.
At least, all the moves so far point in that direction: starting with the Kirk Cousins acquisition. He can help the young QB by teaching him the ropes.
If selected, Mendoza would become the 30th quarterback taken No. 1 overall in the common draft era, and the fourth straight year a QB goes first. But even that does not guarantee an immediate starting role. With Cousins and Aidan O’Connell already in the room, the Raiders appear prepared to take a more measured approach.
“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.”
“It’s a hard position to play, and there’s a lot to learn beyond throwing [a] football and being a good teammate,” he said. “A lot of these guys live their entire life in shotgun [formation]. They don’t huddle. You really got to teach some of these guys how to run a huddle, how to break a huddle, how to get under center and call a cadence.”
He added: “We all understand there’s not a ton of patience in the job that we chose here, but if you can find some level of patience and put people in positions when they’re ready, that’s the best way forward.”
Las Vegas Raiders’ Roster Issues Run Deeper Than Quarterback
Spytek’s quotes hit home, and the mindset becomes even more critical when we look at the Raiders’ rankings. According to PFSN’s NFL Offense impact metrics, Las Vegas finished the 2025 season ranked 31st in offense, and the DEFi ranked them 21st on defense.
Which is exactly why this draft, and especially that No. 1 pick, carries so much weight. Even if Mendoza is the pick, the job is far from complete.
While the offensive unit features names like Ashton Jeanty and Brock Bowers, the wide receiver room remains underwhelming. Additions like Jalon Nailor help, but in a division stacked with elite quarterbacks, that group likely needs a serious upgrade. Do not be surprised if the Raiders target a receiver as early as the second round.
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The secondary is another area that cannot be ignored. Extending Eric Stokes and bringing in Taron Johnson adds experience, but the unit still lacks depth and long-term stability.
And then there is the offensive line. The Raiders made a major statement by signing Tyler Linderbaum.
But protecting a rookie quarterback goes beyond one position. Ensuring consistent pass protection across the line will be critical to Mendoza’s development.
