In the coming weeks, with the 2025 NFL season coming to a close, those teams eliminated from the postseason will have all eyes on the College Football Playoff in preparation for the 2026 NFL Draft. That will include the regime that represents the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Raiders will have plenty of pressure on them once again this offseason, as they need to drastically turn things around. This will be especially true if they wrap up the first pick on Sunday in their season finale against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Five prospects, in particular, will be playing in the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff who are considered elite at a position of need for Las Vegas. Let's break down how each has a chance to etch their name in Raiders history as the second player to be drafted at No. 1 since the turn of the century.
5 college players Raiders need to keep their eyes peeled for in CFP
Dante Moore, QB, Oregon
Oregon's quarterback factory continues to produce with the potential top pick in April. Moore completed over 70% of his passes this season and made a crucial throw in the Iowa win that will be replayed all throughout the draft process. It was a mind-boggling toss.
He didn't have the benefit of facing an NFL-type defense like Fernando Mendoza did in practice, but Texas Tech will be a good litmus test to see if he can outduel a top-three defense in the country. Since the 2026 class is so weak at his position, Moore wouldn't go any higher if he waits for 2027.
Moore is ranked above everyone else on Mel Kiper Jr.'s December updated big board. His colleague at ESPN, Field Yates, had Moore as the pick by Las Vegas in his recent mock draft. Moore could be a franchise quarterback, and the Raiders can't pass that up.
Arvell Reese, LB, Ohio State
Reese was garnering attention as the number one overall pick not that long ago. His production earned him the Big Ten Linebacker of the Year award, but he is so versatile that he is difficult to put into a box.
The Raiders have handpicked two linebackers from the Big Ten over the past two seasons, one of whom was a former Buckeye, Tommy Eichenberg. The other is Cody Lindenberg of Minnesota. Neither has the upside of Reese, and the Raiders owe Maxx Crosby some more help on that defense.
Francis Mauigoa, OL, Miami
Mauigoa is the model of consistency, as he hasn't missed a game in his college career. He helped pave the way for three 200-plus yard rushing games for the Hurricanes in 2025. Mauigoa also won the award for best blocker in the ACC for his efforts.
RELATED: Raiders should seriously consider this once-blackballed head coach candidate
ESPN NFL Draft Analyst Jordan Reid thinks Mauigoa, currently an offensive tackle, could move inside to guard once he begins his NFL career. Either way, Las Vegas needs serious help on the offensive line, and Mauigoa would be an instant upgrade.
Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana
The 2025 Heisman Trophy winner is the poster boy for how you want a franchise quarterback to be, both on and off the field. He'll have back-to-back 3,000-yard seasons once he plays Alabama on New Year's Day, and in the Penn State victory, he engineered a drive that Hoosier Nation will never forget.
He capped it off with a pass to Omar Cooper Jr. that was deemed by many as the best toe drag catch that anyone has ever seen. Announcers Gus Johnson and Joel Klatt were mesmerized by the gravity of the moment, but Mendoza has no fear when the game hangs in the balance.
Mendoza can run, he can make every throw on the field, and he is supremely intelligent. The battle between Mendoza and Moore over who will be the franchise gunslinger for Las Vegas will galvanize the entire organization for the next four months.
Caleb Downs, S, Ohio State
Downs has all the accolades that an organization could want in a defender. He was a five-star recruit who has collected six interceptions in his career. He was the anchor of a defense that didn't allow more than 16 points in any game this season. That is rare.
Although he hasn't played an NFL snap yet, Downs possesses All-Pro talent the moment he steps on the gridiron. No one is rated higher than Downs is on the Pro Football Focus big board, and that is because he is a special, once-in-a-generation kind of talent.