The Las Vegas Raiders are finally in a position to land their franchise quarterback. After years of missing out on the top college signal-callers due to meaningless wins late in the season and settling for Band-Aid veterans, the Raiders finished 3-14, securing the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
This was pivotal for the organization, as this year's quarterback class is projected to have only one player with a first-round grade. While there have been debates on whether the Raiders should trade the pick, they appear poised to do the right thing and select Fernando Mendoza to begin the draft.
While some have tried to tear him down, the Indiana star has drawn plenty of positive reviews from pundits throughout the process as well, who believe that he has a high floor and a high ceiling. Urban Meyer became the latest voice to heap high praise on Mendoza as he prepares for his NFL career.
Urban Meyer predicts that potential Raiders draft pick Fernando Mendoza will only get better
Mendoza had a great season in 2025, throwing for 3,535 yards and 41 touchdowns on a 72.0% completion rate, while rushing for 276 yards and seven touchdowns. It culminated with him winning the Heisman Trophy and national title, and he seemed to get better as the season progressed.
Meyer, who spent plenty of time covering Mendoza on Fox Sports' Big Noon Kickoff, recently appeared on The Herd, where he praised the projected No. 1 overall pick at length and made a few NFL comparisons for him.
"Mid-year, Todd McShay and I both said [Mendoza] needed to come back for another year. He's not ready. And then, he went on a magical run, and I mean, he is more than ready," Meyer said. "And once I got to know this guy, I compare him to Drake Maye. I compare him to Alex Smith. I just think the guy is a coach on the field, and the best version of Mendoza we have not seen yet. You look at game five, six, and you look at the last four games of the season, other than his jersey number and name on the back, he improved that much. I just love this kid."
Of course, Meyer's word is not necessarily gold when it comes to the quarterback position. Not only did he not have much success in the NFL, but even Meyer's high-profile college quarterbacks, like Florida's Tim Tebow, did not see their skills translate to the league.
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In fact, the two best NFL quarterbacks to play for the legendary college coach, Cam Newton and Joe Burrow, were often buried on the bench and went on to have their most success at other programs, and eventually, turn into NFL superstars.
Still, the sentiment from the three-time national championship-winning head coach should not be overlooked. Mendoza certainly appears ready for the next level, as evidenced by his performance against some of the nation's elite programs en route to a national title.
The fact that his game improved as his schedule got tougher should give Raiders fans plenty of optimism that he is not done improving. Meyer noted that he is worried about Mendoza joining a poor team, but that is quite literally the case for every first-overall quarterback.
Las Vegas' front office has shown that it is focused on easing Mendoza's transition to the professional level, proven by the hiring of Klint Kubiak. It will be up to John Spytek, however, to build out the rest of the roster to ensure that the 2025 Heisman Trophy reaches his full potential.