After a 3-14 finish in 2025, the Las Vegas Raiders head into one of the most pivotal offseasons in franchise history - and they’re armed with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. The biggest question looming? Who will be under center for this team come Week 1 - and is the answer already clear?
Enter Fernando Mendoza, the 2025 Heisman Trophy winner and national championship quarterback from Indiana. Mendoza didn’t just lead the Hoosiers to a perfect 16-0 season - he commanded the spotlight with poise, precision, and a maturity that’s turning heads at every level of the NFL. One of those heads just happens to belong to Tom Brady.
Yes, that Tom Brady - the seven-time Super Bowl champion, now a minority owner of the Raiders and a voice expected to carry weight in the team’s draft room. Brady was on hand in Miami for the national title game between Indiana and the Hurricanes, getting an up-close look at Mendoza on college football’s biggest stage.
“He played tremendous all season,” Brady said during an appearance on The Herd with Colin Cowherd. “Sixteen-0, leading his team - and again, he’s another guy that when you hear him speak, I always judge quarterbacks, I go, ‘How would I have answered that?’ He’s just a very mature young man, and he’s got a bright future.”
That kind of praise from Brady isn’t tossed around lightly. The former sixth-round pick knows better than anyone that draft position is just the beginning of the journey. What matters most, in his eyes, is what happens after a player walks across that stage.
“Everybody coming into the league, there’s so much room for development,” Brady said. “Nobody’s a finished product.
I don’t care if you’ve won the Heisman or if you’re the 199th pick in the draft. It’s what do you do when you get there?
How important is this to you? Are you obsessed with your job?
Are you obsessed with being the best you can be?”
Those are the questions Brady believes separate the good from the great. And while he didn’t name-drop Mendoza as the Raiders’ pick outright, the admiration was clear.
“These young men, whether it’s Fernando or other players that were on the field the other night, they have a great opportunity to do something in their life, to enhance their family’s life, to go and impact a community in a positive way by playing great football and bringing joy to the fan base. That’s a job you take very seriously.”
Brady’s own NFL journey began in 2000, when he was drafted by the New England Patriots in Bill Belichick’s first year as head coach. He credits the environment in New England - one that demanded excellence and emphasized football above all else - as a major factor in his development.
“All of these young prospects, I hope they go to environments that embrace them completely, that can help them develop into the best player they can be,” Brady said. “That’s how I kind of grew up in the league.
I found a great environment. It was all about football.
It was about, ‘How can you be the best teammate? How can you work hard?
How can you play smart? How can you play tough?
How can you play well under pressure? How well can you play in tough conditions?’
And then, ultimately, ‘How well can you play in championship games?’ All of those things remain to be seen.”
That last point hits home for the Raiders, who are still trying to build that kind of winning culture. Last offseason, they brought in Pete Carroll and traded for veteran quarterback Geno Smith, reuniting the former Seahawks duo. But things didn’t go as planned.
Carroll was let go after just one season. Smith, despite signing a contract extension that keeps him in Las Vegas through 2027, struggled mightily in 2025.
He went 2-13 in 15 starts, throwing 19 touchdowns and 17 interceptions - his worst statistical season since his early days in the league. His Total QBR of 34.1 ranked 27th out of 28 qualifying quarterbacks, ahead of only Titans rookie Cam Ward.
The Raiders do have an out in Smith’s deal after the 2026 season, which gives them some flexibility. But with the top pick in hand and a quarterback like Mendoza on the board, the future could be arriving sooner rather than later.
NFL draft expert Dane Brugler has already pegged Mendoza as the top pick in his latest mock draft. Following the national championship, Brugler doubled down on the idea that Mendoza’s performance on the biggest stage solidified his stock.
“Though Mendoza isn’t on the level of Caleb Williams or Drake Maye as a prospect, he has the talent to be a productive NFL starter for a long time,” Brugler wrote. “It would be shocking if Tom Brady and the Raiders don’t select him with the top pick.”
Of course, quarterback isn’t the only need in Las Vegas. The offensive line struggled throughout the 2025 season, and the roster has holes across the board. But with one of the league’s largest salary cap cushions heading into free agency, the Raiders have the resources to make significant improvements - and potentially set the table for a rookie quarterback to succeed right away.
Fernando Mendoza has the résumé. He has the leadership.
And according to Tom Brady, he has the intangibles that separate the good from the great. Now, the Raiders have a decision to make - one that could define their next decade.