Two months before the 2026 NFL draft, everyone expects the Raiders to make Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza the first overall pick. But right now, Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak says he doesn’t know Mendoza well enough to say.
Although Kubiak said in an interview on the Raiders’ YouTube channel that he likes everything he’s seen from Mendoza so far, what he’s seen isn’t much because Kubiak spent the last football season coordinating the Seahawks’ offense, not watching college football.
“My exposure is very limited,” Kubiak said. “I saw him play the national championship game, I saw the interviews he’s given after those games and how team-oriented he is. I look forward to getting to know the player better, but obviously a really talented guy with a bright future. We’ll see. We’ll see where it ends up. But we’ve got a lot of work to do to get to know him before that time comes.”
It’s still possible that the Raiders will decide Mendoza isn’t the right quarterback for Kubiak’s offense, or that some team would blow the Raiders away with a trade offer for the No. 1 overall pick. But at this point, it appears highly likely that Kubiak will get to know Mendoza not just over the next two months, but for years to come as the two of them work together to turn the Raiders franchise around.
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