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The 2026 NFL Draft is officially underway, with 32 new players joining the league on the first night of the event.
Unsurprisingly, Fernando Mendoza was the first player to get selected, as the Las Vegas Raiders snagged him with the No. 1 overall pick.
The Raiders now possess an ideal quarterback room after a miserable 2025-26 campaign marked by subpar play at the position. In addition to adding Mendoza to the roster, Las Vegas signed Kirk Cousins earlier in the offseason to give their franchise signal-caller a veteran mentor to learn from.
Contrary to popular belief, there’s a legitimate possibility that Cousins could begin the 2026-27 season as the Raiders’ No. 1 quarterback, which could prove to be a move that helps Mendoza more than it would hurt him.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love sat behind Aaron Rodgers for multiple years before taking the reins in 2023. While many believed that Green Bay’s decision to keep Love on the sidelines would be detrimental to his development, it helped him pick up helpful pointers from the Packers legend and be a high-impact contributor upon receiving the starting job.
Mendoza could find himself in a similar situation with the Raiders, though it's unlikely he’ll be QB No. 2 for the first three years of his career. Still, the Indiana product may not receive the keys from the get-go, and that’s perfectly fine.
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