With the end of the regular season, the Las Vegas Raiders emerged as the holders of the number one pick of the 2026 NFL draft. With this confirmation, several reports have revealed the Raiders will look to bring in a quarterback, with Indiana Hoosiers star Fernando Mendoza and Oregon QB1 Dante Moore emerging as top options. However, according to an NFL expert, Las Vegas is advised to take a more radical approach with the top pick, which doesn’t include the 2026 Heisman winner.

“Are the Raiders ready for a quarterback right now? Their offensive line is terrible. Do you want to sign a rookie quarterback up for that?” Steven Cheah said.

Cheah is right in his assessment, as the Las Vegas Raiders have one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL this season. The Raiders lead the league in sacks allowed (64) and have the highest sack rate (10.6%) in the NFL. For context, the NFL average is 40.2 sacks allowed per team with a 6.5% sack rate.

The Raiders are allowing sacks at a rate that’s 63% higher than the league average, which puts tremendous pressure on their quarterback and limits their offensive effectiveness. These problems have directly impacted the performance of the Raiders’ QB1, Geno Smith.

In 15 games, the former Seattle Seahawks shot-caller was sacked 55 times while facing pressure on 37.6% of his dropbacks. Under pressure, his completion percentage drops to 48.8% from 67.4% (overall), and he’s thrown 8 out of his 17 interceptions (per SumerSports’ analysis). Further, the offensive line gives Smith only 2.41 seconds on average before pressure arrives, resulting in extremely negative production with an EPA per pressured dropback of -0.794.

Hence, Steven Cheah shared what Las Vegas could do instead of drafting a quarterback with the first overall pick.

“I would look to potentially move it, especially since this year’s quarterback crop is not viewed as the highest. And if you love Fernando Mendoza, take Mendoza. But I would probably look to build out the team more to be ready for a franchise quarterback.”

Despite these issues, it seems Las Vegas is likely to pick a quarterback in the 2026 NFL Draft, kicking off the debate between Dante Moore and Fernando Mendoza. While both quarterbacks have shown the talent and ability to be the number one pick, an NFL draft expert wants the Raiders to go for a certain star shot-caller, who has lit up college football this season.

Vegas urged picking this quarterback over Fernando Mendoza

For the first time since 2007, the Las Vegas Raiders will enter the draft with the No. 1 overall pick. However, almost 20 years ago, the Raiders picked quarterback JaMarcus Russell, who has gone down as one of the biggest draft mistakes in NFL history. Hence, to avoid such a blunder, The Athletic’s Nick Baumgardner wants the Raiders to draft Dante Moore over Fernando Mendoza in his recent mock draft.

“It’s time for Tom Brady and company to rip the cord on a quarterback,” Baumgardner wrote. “So long as he declares, Moore would be an exciting choice. The 20-year-old QB is light on experience, but his blend of football IQ, athletic instinct, poise, and arm talent is beyond his years. He has the right mindset for a challenge like this and offers a skill set worth investing in.”

Both Dante Moore and Fernando Mendoza have had incredible seasons ahead of the draft. The Indiana Hoosiers star has recorded 2,980 passing yards, 33 touchdown passes, six interceptions, 240 rushing yards, and six rushing touchdowns. Whereas the Oregon quarterback has played in 13 games and has 3,046 passing yards, 28 touchdowns, eight interceptions, 196 rushing yards, and two rushing touchdowns.

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Hence, now the onus is on the Las Vegas Raiders to make the right pick, especially when there isn’t much to separate between the two stars who are touted to be the number one pick. However, the Raider Nation will want their franchise to take the correct quarterback and end their years of suffering soon.