💥 BREAKING NEWS: The Raiders Are “In Love” With Fernando Mendoza—but One Phone Call Could Change Everything ⚡.DH

The Las Vegas Raiders are closing in on two decisions that will define their future: naming their next head coach and selecting quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 overall pick. One of those decisions is nearly finalized. The other feels inevitable.

And that’s exactly why the Raiders need to pause.

Before they turn in the card with Mendoza’s name on it, there is one thing Las Vegas owes itself to do—make the call. Take the offers. Listen. Even if the answer never changes.

NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah has already hinted at what league circles are quietly acknowledging: the Raiders’ No. 1 pick will draw interest.

Serious interest. This is widely viewed as a one-quarterback draft, and Mendoza sits alone at the top. That kind of scarcity changes behavior.

The Raiders’ need at quarterback is obvious. They’ve cycled through instability for years, going 21–47 since 2022. The position has sunk seasons before they ever had a chance to float. Drafting Mendoza feels like the cleanest solution.

But clean doesn’t always mean complete.

Las Vegas isn’t one player away. The roster has holes across the board—depth, protection, consistency. Even the right quarterback won’t fix everything overnight. That reality is what makes the No. 1 pick both powerful and dangerous.

Jeremiah believes teams—most notably the New York Jets—will explore every possible avenue to move up. The Jets sit at No. 2 and have accumulated enough draft capital to make the conversation uncomfortable. Not necessarily irresistible—but uncomfortable.

“The buzz down here,” Jeremiah said, “is that there is no chance the Raiders would trade off of that pick.”

That phrase keeps coming up. No chance. Pretty in love. Moot point.

Those aren’t denials. They’re tells.

Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic echoed the same sentiment. He expects the Jets to make the call. He expects them to push. He just doesn’t expect the Raiders to budge—unless something shocking happens.

That “unless” matters.

History is filled with teams who convinced themselves the decision was settled—right up until the moment it wasn’t. When future first-round picks enter the discussion. When roster flexibility expands. When timelines shift.

The Raiders don’t need to trade the pick. In fact, all signs point to them keeping it. Mendoza fits the vision. The coaching hire aligns with his development. The organization appears unified.

But unity without curiosity can turn into rigidity.

Making the call doesn’t mean wavering. It means verifying. It means understanding the market. It means ensuring that when Mendoza is selected, the Raiders do so knowing exactly what they turned down—and why.

Because if Las Vegas is wrong, the cost won’t show up immediately. It will surface years later, when depth issues linger, when protection fails, when a quarterback is asked to compensate for too much too soon.

That’s the risk.

Drafting Mendoza is the most logical move. It may also be the correct one. But logic alone isn’t how front offices survive. They survive by pressure-testing assumptions before committing.

The Raiders are finally positioned to control the board. That leverage only exists if they use it—even briefly.

So before the card is turned in, before the future is locked, there’s one call they must take. One moment to listen. One chance to be sure.

If they still choose Fernando Mendoza after that, the decision won’t just feel inevitable.

It will feel earned.