The Las Vegas Raiders did not have a great 2025 season. Las Vegas went 3-14 during the regular season, which was bad enough to secure the first overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. That has the Raiders in prime position to draft Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza as their next franchise leader. That inevitability has one former Raiders player walking back a take on Mendoza potentially landing in Las Vegas.
Former Raiders QB Derek Carr walked back some past comments about Mendoza during a recent podcast episode.
“I had so many stupid tweets about people saying that the Raiders should not take Mendoza,” Carr said on his Home Grown podcast.
Carr explained that part of the drama is a misunderstanding. He claims that Las Vegas needs to add protection for Mendoza and build a solid team around him, or else they shouldn’t pick him.
But Carr did make it clear that he thinks Mendoza is deserving of being the first overall pick.
“They said that I said they should not take him. I said they should not take him unless they fix everything else,” Carr added. “So for the record, he should absolutely be the first overall pick. Which I said, he is the undoubtedly number one overall pick.”
Now it is a foregone conclusion that Las Vegas will take Mendoza at first overall in April. Carr is getting ahead of the narrative and welcoming Mendoza to the fold of Raiders quarterbacks.
“I want to see him in silver and black so bad, I love him,” Carr concluded. “But I don’t want to see him get beat down and see that happy face not look into the camera during that interview.”
Mendoza will join a Raiders roster that needs a lot of work. The good news is that Ashton Jeanty and Brock Bowers are already in town. There will be no lack of firepower in Las Vegas.
However, as Carr warned, the Raiders need to add more talent on the offensive line to protect Mendoza in 2026.
It will be fascinating to see how the Raiders approach the offseason in anticipation of Mendoza joining the franchise.
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