After years of winning meaningless games late in the season to fall out of prime draft position, the Las Vegas Raiders are in a prime position to finally land their quarterback of the future. The organization will be the first team on the clock for the second time in franchise history, and the first time since they selected JaMarcus Russell in 2007.
While all signs point to Fernando Mendoza being the selection, there have been several pundits who have suggested that Las Vegas go a different route. Despite the clear need for a quarterback and the 2025 Heisman Trophy winner being the top signal caller in this year's draft, some have suggested that the Raiders should trade the pick for a haul.
General manager John Spytek recently revealed that teams have been calling about a potential trade. Former NFL wide receiver Greg Jennings believes Las Vegas should stay the course and draft Mendoza.
Greg Jennings believes the Las Vegas Raiders should draft Fernando Mendoza
The Raiders have seemingly been preparing to select Mendoza with the No. 1 overall pick. In addition to hiring head coach Klint Kubiak, they signed veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins to ease the 2025 national champion's transition to the NFL.
Amid Spytek's revelation that teams have inquired about trading up for the top pick, Jennings appeared on First Things First to share how Las Vegas should handle those calls.
"I think you have to listen, but absolutely not trade. Take your pick...You acquired an offensive lineman in (Tyler) Linderbaum to secure your offensive line at the center position to alleviate the pressure of a young quarterback coming in immediately and having to call protection. So, okay, we got that. Then you bring in a guy like Jalen Nailor, a solid No. 2 guy. And you have Brock Bowers, you already have Ashton Jeanty, you need to bolster up your offensive line and get weapons around this quarterback. You're going to go get Mendoza. The fact that you go and get Kirk Cousins, nobody believes that that's their play. The reason why you get a guy like Kirk Cousins is so that he has somebody who has performed, who has played in this league, who understands what it looks like and what this plan that Klint Kubiak is going to have needs to look like. Now, you, and Mendoza being the you, are going to unlock it to its fullest potential. Not Kirk Cousins."
Jennings also noted that he believes Mendoza is walking into a better situation than it previously appeared.
"He's definitely walking into a better situation than what we all believed it to be, let's say, three months ago, for sure."
Jennings pointed to the additions of Cousins and Linderbaum, along with the presence of Bowers and a rushing attack, as reasons that the Raiders are an improved situation for a rookie quarterback. He added that there is no chance that Las Vegas trades the pick after their moves this offseason.
While teams are calling about the No. 1 overall pick, it always seemed highly unlikely that the Raiders would engage in such chatter. Instead, Spytek and Kubiak appear poised to make Mendoza the franchise's signal caller of the future, while sticking to their plan of bringing him along slowly.
The noise about a potential trade could pick up ahead of next Thursday's draft, as that would be the only alternative to selecting Mendoza. Raider Nation should be able to take a collective deep breath, however, and know that the former Indiana Hoosiers star will be in Silver and Black to begin the 2026 season.
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