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The Las Vegas Raiders are in a position to shock everyone with the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, though.
That's likely not the path they'll take, though. ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr., the legendary draft analyst, is on board with just about everyone else.
Kiper unveiled his newest mock draft on Tuesday, and he's got the Raiders taking Fernando Mendoza, just as everyone assumes.
Mendoza won the Heisman Trophy and the national championship for Indiana this past college football season.
In a draft devoid of other clear top-notch QBs, Mendoza is worthy of the top pick, and the Raiders definitely need a quarterback.
"Including the No. 1 selection in mock drafts is just a formality at this point," Kiper writes. "It's going to be Mendoza, and the Raiders have spent the past two weeks trying to clean up the surroundings for his arrival."
MORE: Why the Kansas City Chiefs traded for Justin Fields
The Raiders were one of the most active NFL teams in free agency since it began last week.
"The team's biggest signing was center Tyler Linderbaum on a massive three-year, $81 million deal; he will help Mendoza with setting protections and improve the interior blocking," Kiper writes. "The Raiders also moved on from their previous starting QB by trading Geno Smith to the Jets. That leaves Aidan O'Connell as the only passer on the roster. It's time for the Mendoza era to begin in Las Vegas."
In some years, there's at least discussion of whether the top pick could be up for a trade. Even that hasn't really been mentioned at all of late.
Instead, the Raiders are all but locked in to Mendoza. It's not a bad place for them to be.
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