Mark Davis brings up JaMarcus Russell in scary Raiders reminder before Fernando Mendoza pick

Life-long Raiders fans will always shudder a bit at the name JaMarcus Russell.

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft turned out to be one of the biggest busts in football history. The Raiders, then in Oakland, hoped to be taking their franchise QB. Instead, they found a total whiff.

Now in Vegas, the Raiders would like to avoid a repeat.

They're atop the board in the 2026 NFL Draft, and their sights are presumed to be on Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza, who just won both the Heisman Trophy and the national championship.

Raiders owner Mark Davis spoke about the prospect of having the No. 1 pick, and his recent comments reflected that things don't always go perfectly in that spot.

"Having the first pick in the draft is exciting because we kind of control the draft -- we get to make the decision on who we're gonna pick," Davis said, via the Raiders' official site. "But we've had that position before, and it didn't work out. So there's no magic bullet there, but it's a great opportunity to get a great player, whoever they decide to pick."

Obviously, he's expected to play coy in a situation like this and not refer to the player everyone pretty much knows the Raiders are picking.

But it's his allusion to Russell that might get Raiders fans in a bit of a cold sweat.

The franchise already lived through that struggle once. They have to be hoping that this time will be different. Otherwise, it's more years of disappointment to come.

There's no indication Mendoza will flop like Russell, but this still isn't an exact science.

The Raiders have their sights set on their guy. They just have to hope that this time around, they're right.

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