In some ways, the Las Vegas Raiders may have desecrated Al Davis' iconic "Just Win, Baby" quote at the end of the 2025 NFL season. But as we've said before, Davis was talking about playoff games and Super Bowls when he said this, not meaningless end-of-season bouts while already eliminated.
To win playoff games and Super Bowls, you need a worthwhile quarterback, and the Raiders didn't have that. In fact, they haven't had one in years, and they let the JaMarcus Russell debacle scare them from dipping their toes fully back into the water for nearly two decades. But no longer.
Las Vegas actually bottomed out and got the most precious commodity an NFL team can have: A promising young quarterback on a rookie contract. Fernando Mendoza is the current and future face of the Raiders, and his perceived value is exactly why the Silver and Black tanked late last season.
Las Vegas Raiders tanking for Fernando Mendoza continues to look wholly necessary
After deciding to place Maxx Crosby and Brock Bowers on the Injured Reserve with only a few games left and the margins incredibly tight for the No. 1 pick, Las Vegas earned the right to select Mendoza, who should change the franchise whenever Klint Kubiak forces Kirk Cousins to hand him the keys.
But before he's even played a game, ESPN's Bill Barnwell is reminding Raider Nation why it was critical to lose all of those contests. When going through the trade value of every player in the NFL, Barnwell landed on 155 current players who would theoretically be worth a first-rounder or more in a trade.
Mendoza, however, is worth three first-round picks, according to Barnwell.
"Three first-round picks:Â QBÂ Fernando Mendoza. Mendoza wasn't even regarded as a likely first-round pick in some circles heading into the 2025 college football season, but he quickly dismissed any doubts about what he could do in the Big Ten after transferring to Indiana. Just as Joe Burrow did before his unexpected rise to the top pick, Mendoza produced one of the great college football seasons in recent memory, averaging more than 9 yards per attempt while leading the Hoosiers to an unlikely national title.
"I'm not sure everyone sees Mendoza as a high-end quarterback prospect, but there's plenty to like in the 22-year-old's profile. When he signs his rookie deal, Mendoza will be five years away from even requiring a franchise tag, giving an acquiring team a chance at massive surplus value if the quarterback lives up to expectations. The Raiders weren't trading away the first pick, but if they had, I don't think two late first-rounders would have sufficed."
For context, the great Maxx Crosby is only worth "one first-round pick and more," and both Brock Bowers and Ashton Jeanty are simply worth "one first-round pick." All-Pros Crosby and Bowers, and Jeanty, who many tabbed as generational, aren't as valuable as Mendoza is before playing a snap.
Only eight players in the NFL, by Barnwell's estimation, are equally or more valuable than Mendoza at this juncture. That is already rare air for the youngster to be in before ever taking the field for the Silver and Black, and that's why it was such a priority to land him.
Having key contributors on rookie deals is always preferable, but having a cheap and effective young quarterback on his rookie contract is practically a cheat code. John Spytek and the front office have so much leeway to build this team around him because of a fairly cost-controlled deal.
Even if Mendoza isn't in the same echelon at his position as Crosby, Bowers or Jeanty, this serves as proof that quarterback is king. And if the Raiders didn't get the No. 1 pick and have Mendoza in the building, just how uninspiring would the 2026 NFL season look? Who would play quarterback?
Cousins was brought in as a bridge and to mentor Mendoza, so the entire complexion may have changed without the Indiana product in their crosshairs. Las Vegas had to go all-in on getting Mendoza, and it finally worked out for this franchise, which has been short on luck in recent years.
Production is great, and ultimately, that is what wins and loses games for teams. The NFL is a business, and the Raiders eventually need to put a solid product on the field. But in the early stages of a rebuild, it is all about value, and Mendoza is the greatest treasure a team like the Raiders can have.
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