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It’s an absolute party in the Mendoza household on Thursday night.
The family and friends of Fernando Mendoza exploded with delight and cheers as the former Indiana quarterback was chosen with the No.1 overall pick of the 2026 NFL Draft by the Raiders — as expected — on Thursday night.
Mendoza could be seen on the broadcast sitting on the couch overcome with emotion alongside his wheelchair-bound mom, Elsa, who has multiple sclerosis (MS), inside his childhood home in Coral Gables, Fla.
The Heisman Trophy winner and Elsa hugged before he put on his Raiders hat and worked the room.
ESPN cameras captured his backyard, where a group of his family and friends were cheering when NFL commissioner Roger Goodell called his name.
The 22-year-old has previously called his mom his “best friend.”
On April 7, Mendoza decided to not attend the draft in Pittsburgh, Pa. and instead celebrate the night alongside his family due to various travel circumstances.
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Elsa, who was diagnosed with MS 15 years ago, has had difficultly using her limps in certain capacities, which would make it difficult to travel to and from the draft.
“My mom really wanted to do it at home, and so did my parents. It’s a lot easier for us,” Mendoza said on Monday on “The Rich Eisen Show.”
“Especially with the family situation. I’m going to hop on a plane (in) the morning anyways. For that, it will be a lot easier to stay at home. I wanted to stay and make the memory with everybody who poured into my football journey. Mentors, coaches, family, friends, we want to share that memory with all of them is going to be the best memory that I could hope for, rather than limit it to 10 or 12 people in Pittsburgh.”
As a result, Mendoza won’t be joining Tom Brady or the rest of the Raiders organization to answer questions from the media nor be pictured in a jersey on stage. That will all be likely pushed to Friday in Las Vegas.
He is the first No. 1 pick to skip the event since 2021 when Trevor Lawrence chose a big family night in Clemson rather than traveling to Cleveland.
Mendoza has been highly anticipated to be selected as the No. 1 overall pick for quite a while and Thursday didn’t bring any surprises.
He is coming off of a Heisman Trophy-winning season with the Hoosiers, in which he also won a National Championship over Miami in January.
While the Raiders have veteran Kirk Cousins on hand to compensate for time Mendoza might need to get ready for NFL play, they have still been preparing for the top prospect’s arrival.
During the offseason, Las Vegas made several moves, including signing center Tyler Linderbaum to a historic contract for an offensive lineman as they make an effort to improve upon their worst ranked squad from last season.
Last week, Raiders general manager John Spytek said “the best guy will play” and the team has no plans to sit Mendoza just for the sake of doing so. However, it seems like there will be some time before the Raiders hand over the helm to the young player.
“It’s a hard position to play, and there’s a lot to learn beyond throwing a football and being a good teammate,” Spytek said.
Before the transition period, however, Mendoza will continue to celebrate with his family as the first step in his next chapter has begun.
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