Rachel Gossen
Day 1 of the draft is wrapped and Raider Nation is celebrating the addition of No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza.
The Raiders got their guy
With the first pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, the Las Vegas Raidersselected quarterback Fernando Mendozafrom Indiana.
Mendoza became Indiana's first-ever Heisman Trophy winner and the first in the Big Ten since 2006 after finishing his season at Indiana with career highs in passing yards (3,535), touchdown passes (41) and completion rate (72%).
"It means the world," Mendoza said via Zoom call. "There's been a lot of anticipation whether I was going to end up here. And nothing was ever for certain except for tonight, so when I saw that call, I got a whole lot of chills on my entire body, and I was ecstatic. There's a lot of emotion even right now. However, I understand this is not the end of the journey, although this is a celebration, this is a start of a new thing, and like Coach Kubiak told me on the phone, to stay humble and hungry and to keep on trying to learn every single day."
He is the second No. 1 overall pick from Indiana in NFL Draft history, joining Corbett Davis, who was drafted by the Cleveland Rams in 1938.
Trading frenzy
A total of eight trades were made Thursday night, the most on night 1 of the draft since 2022.
The Raiders chose not to trade back into the first round, but it was a consideration.
"We had a few discussions late there," GM John Spyteksaid post-draft, "and just nothing materialized."
Raiders' remaining picks
As of Thursday night, the Silver and Black have nine picks left to select over the next two days.
Top prospects remaining
PerNFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah, here are some of the top players still available.
- S Emmanuel McNeil-Warren
- CB Jermod McCoy
- CB Colton Hood
- WR Denzel Boston
- EDGE T.J. Parker
- EDGE Cashius Howell
- LB CJ Allen
- DT Kayden McDonald
- LB Anthony Hill Jr.
- CB Avieon Terrell
Day 2 of the draft kicks off Friday, April 24 at 4 p.m. PT. Catch up on all the Raiders draft content atraiders.com/draft.
