Everything is setting up for the Las Vegas Raiders to select Fernando Mendoza with the first overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. The Raiders need a quarterback and have an opportunity to select the reigning Heisman Trophy winner.
Mendoza wants to play for the franchise, too.
However, FOX Sports’ Danny Parkins doesn’t think it’d be a good idea for the Raiders to draft Mendoza.
On Tuesday’s “First Things First,” Parkins iterated that the Indiana quarterback isn’t good enough of a prospect for the Raiders to use the No. 1 pick on him, believing Las Vegas is better off trading the selection.
“Given how many holes the Raiders have and the comp for Mendoza seems to be that he’s a Jared Goff type who’s a little faster, but with a little worse arm — that can miss,” Parkins said. “That’s [not what the quarterbacks in the NFL look like today]. That can miss.”
While Mendoza seems to be the clear favorite to be the No. 1 draft pick, he doesn’t seem to be viewed in the same light as other top quarterback prospects in recent years. Both FOX Sports NFL Draft expert Rob Rang and analyst Bucky Brooks compared Mendoza to Goff, but Brooks has some questions on whether he can be a difference maker at the next level.
Still, Mendoza seems to be the clear-cut top quarterback prospect in this year’s draft. Mendoza was the only quarterback to go in the first round in Rang’s most recent mock draft. FOX Sports lead college football analyst Joel Klatt, meanwhile, only had one quarterback other than Mendoza go in the first round of his most recent mock draft. He had the Pittsburgh Steelers taking Alabama’s Ty Simpson with the No. 21 pick.
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So, with a lack of other high-end quarterback prospects in this year’s draft, Parkins believes that the Raiders can get a haul for the No. 1 pick.
“This draft, there might be more demand than there is supply,” Parkins said. “If you can put up the rights to Mendoza for the Jets, Steelers, Dolphins and anyone that needs a quarterback, you can get a heist for him.”
The last time the first overall pick in the NFL Draft was traded was in 2023, when the Carolina Panthers moved from No. 9 to No. 1 to draft Bryce Young. The Chicago Bears got the No. 9 and No. 61 overall picks in the 2023 draft, plus the Panthers’ 2024 first-round pick, 2025 second-round pick and wide receiver DJ Moore for the No. 1 pick.
The 2024 first-round pick Carolina gave up ended up being the No. 1 overall pick, which Chicago used to select quarterback Caleb Williams. The Bears also turned the No. 9 pick they got in the 2023 draft into All-Pro right tackle Darnell Wright, with that trade helping Chicago win the NFC North this past season.
And as Parkins compared Mendoza to Goff, the Los Angeles Rams actually traded up for the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NFL Draft in order to select Goff. The Rams gave the Tennessee Titans a first-round pick (No. 15 overall), two second-round picks (No. 43, 45) and a third-round pick (No. 76) in the 2016 draft, plus a 2017 first-round pick and a 2017 third-round pick as part of a deal to draft Goff.
Los Angeles was able to make it to a Super Bowl with Goff, but that trade also worked out for Tennessee. The Titans used the picks they got in that trade to draft running back Derrick Henry, offensive tackle Jack Conklin and others who turned out to be core pieces for a Tennessee team that made the playoffs in three straight seasons (2019-21).
So, recent history does suggest that trading the No. 1 overall pick could be smart, and that might be what’s needed to jump start a Raiders franchise that’s won seven games over the last two seasons.
