2025 Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza is the projected No.1 pick in this year’s NFL draft. He’s been linked with the Las Vegas Raiders, who hold the first overall pick this year.

According to NFL insider Jason La Canfora, the Raiders, along with minority owner Tom Brady, are locked in to acquire Mendoza in the draft. He also highlighted how the franchise has no intentions of trading this pick and giving up the chance of potentially getting a franchise quarterback.

“The Raiders believe their future is intrinsically tied to pairing Mendoza with rookie head coach Klint Kubiak, a quarterback guru and offensive play caller.” Canfora wrote. “Part of the allure to hiring him was the ability to pair him with Mendoza in an attempt to revamp a long-suffering offense on the fly.

“Moving them off the plan will be virtually impossible, as the Raiders have not received consistently elite quarterback since Rich Gannon competing for MVPs in the early 2000s, and new minority owner Tom Brady has made securing a franchise quarterback his top priority, according to mutiple sources very close to the future Hall of Fame quarterback.”

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The Raiders struggled under first-year coach Pete Carroll and QB1 Geno Smith during the 2025 season. They finished dead last in the AFC West with a 3-14 record, while Smith tallied 3,025 yards and 19 TDs passing, 17 interceptions and 55 sacks.

The team fired Carroll after just one season and named Klint Kubiak as his replacement. He recently won Super Bowl LX with the Seahawks as their offensive coordinator.

On the other hand, Fernando Mendoza led the Indiana Hoosiers to an undefeated national championship during the 2025 season. He recorded 3,535 yards and 41 TDs passing and was honored with the Heisman for his performance.

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Colin Cowherd questions Fernando Mendoza’s fit in Klint Kubiak’s offense

On Monday, analyst Colin Cowherd expressed his doubts about whether Fernando Mendoza would enjoy success under Klint Kubiak in his first year.

“I don’t worry about Fernando Mendoza, I worry about the Raiders as his parents in the league,” Cowherd said on his podcast. “Bottom line, even if Klint Kubiak is a good coach, he’ll probably be the fourth-best coach in his division, and ownership is impulsive and ridiculously impatient.

“Who picks you matters a lot. I think it’s an interesting red flag. Here’s the thing, Caleb (Williams) may have struggled, but Caleb is an insane athlete. Mendoza is not even an Andrew Luck athlete.”

Will Mendoza be the answer to the Raiders’ quarterback issues?