The Las Vegas Raiders haven’t turned in the card yet. The commissioner hasn’t stepped to the podium. No name has been officially called.
And yet, inside the Raiders’ orbit, the future already feels strangely settled.
Fernando Mendoza is widely expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, barring something truly unforeseen. League chatter suggests the organization’s coaching decisions have quietly revolved around preparing for his arrival. Alignment at the top is one thing. Buy-in from the locker room is another.
That’s where Ashton Jeanty enters the conversation — and why his words landed heavier than most pre-draft praise.
During Super Bowl LX media sessions, Jeanty spoke with CBS Sports while discussing the Raiders’ reported hiring of Klint Kubiak. The topic naturally drifted to Mendoza, the quarterback many already see as the franchise’s next cornerstone.
Jeanty didn’t hedge.
Asked whether Mendoza’s role in lifting Indiana from obscurity to national relevance resonated with players in Las Vegas — and whether that story inspired belief in a similar turnaround — Jeanty answered without pause.
“100%,” he said. “It’s great to see that in somebody. And those are the type of people that we need in the building.”
It wasn’t just praise. It was identification.
Jeanty didn’t talk about arm talent. He didn’t reference draft status. He focused on mentality — the kind forged through climbing, not arriving. “Guys who know what it’s like to work their way up,” he added. “Just to take it day by day. Bring a different mentality into the locker room.”
That framing matters.
The Raiders have spent years cycling through resets, half-measures, and false dawns. Talent has come and gone. Systems have changed. What’s often been missing is belief that the climb itself means something — that progress isn’t accidental.
Mendoza’s reputation fits that gap almost too cleanly.
Those who played with him describe a quarterback whose demeanor never changes with circumstance. College teammate Kaelon Black once put it simply: what you see is what you get. No theater. No shortcuts. Just steady pressure forward.
Jeanty seemed to recognize that immediately.
Of course, it would have been easy — and safe — for him to offer generic optimism. That’s the standard script. But the enthusiasm in his response didn’t sound rehearsed. It sounded like relief. Like someone recognizing a shared wavelength before the introduction even happens.
And that’s what makes this moment notable.
The Raiders’ fanbase has largely been on board with Mendoza since the fall. Front-office alignment appears solid. Coaching direction is in sync. But locker rooms don’t run on consensus — they run on trust. And trust isn’t built through draft rankings.
It’s built through tone.
Jeanty is one of the voices that matters in that room. A player who’s lived through the grind. Who understands how quickly narratives collapse if the work doesn’t match the promise. His willingness to speak so openly about Mendoza sends a message without needing to declare anything outright.
It suggests that the Raiders aren’t just preparing to draft a quarterback.
They’re preparing to follow one.
Nothing has been finalized. No future has been guaranteed. But sometimes, the earliest signs of change aren’t wins or losses — they’re recognition. One player seeing himself in another before the jerseys even match.
If Fernando Mendoza does end up walking across that draft stage in April, he won’t be entering a silent room.
The tone is already shifting.
And that may be the most important part of the pick — long before the first snap is ever taken.
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