Everyone is expecting the Heisman winner, Fernando Mendoza, to be the first overall pick of the 2026 NFL Draft. Interestingly, the Las Vegas Raiders are expected to get the first draft pick in 2026. But will that guarantee success for them? According to an assistant Raiders General Manager, multiple changes need to be made.

“Would love to see him in Vegas. Bowers/Jeanty are a great young supporting cast, and the big thing for me is what they do with coaching. Find the right young offensive-minded HC, and that’s a team that has a foundation,” the anonymous insider claimed.

The Raiders brought in veteran head coach Pete Carroll early in the 2025 season, hoping for a turnaround. But the 2-14 record is the worst record of Carroll’s career. There is an age factor as well. He is 74 years old. Bringing in a younger head coach will help the Raiders more in the long run. They can draft Fernando Mendoza and have a five-year window with the rookie to play, perform, and execute.

For the Raiders, despite their poor showing in the season, the players have shown their talent. Rookie running back Ashton Jeanty has played 16 games and carried the ball 240 times for 888 yards and five touchdowns. In the receiving corps, tight end Brock Bowers has only played 12 games, but he also has 64 receptions for 680 yards and seven touchdowns. However, on the quarterback side, the situation has become messy.

Over the last three seasons, they’ve rotated through seven different quarterbacks, which explains why winning has been so hard and why they still don’t have stability at the most important position. They keep searching for answers, but nothing sticks, and even serviceable play has been rare. Now, with Geno Smith out because of an ankle injury, Kenny Pickett is expected to step in for Week 18, which only adds to the uncertainty.

At the same time, the Raiders lost rookie Cam Miller after the Miami Dolphins signed him off their practice squad. Miller, a sixth-round pick from North Dakota State, didn’t even make it through his first season with the team, which reflects poorly on how Vegas handled him. Geno Smith and Aidan O’Connell have already shown they aren’t long-term answers, and while Miller probably wasn’t either, he was the only one who hadn’t failed yet and was someone the team had invested in.

Even if this move caught the Raiders off guard, it still highlights poor management. Now, their focus shifts to the draft, where they’re hoping a new face, possibly Fernando Mendoza, can finally fix what’s been broken for years.

However, the Raiders have made no official announcement about their draft pick and the head coach position yet, but the co-owner Tom Brady‘s recent confession might just welcome Mendoza in Vegas.

Fernando Mendoza gets a big push from the Raiders’ co-owner

His rise hasn’t been a stroke of luck. In fact, he is carrying the Indiana Hoosiers on his back single-handedly. During the 2026 Rose Bowl against the Alabama Crimson Tide football program, he completed 14 of 16 passes for 192 passing yards with 3 touchdowns that helped them win 38-3. That’s when Tom Brady was enchanted by his talent and had lots of praise for the young player.

“His leadership is what stands out to me. It’s his relatability to his teammates. He’s overcome a lot of things in his career. He’s a Miami kid, went to Cal, to Indiana,” Brady said. “And then you go to a program that hasn’t won anything in forever. What he’s done this season is so impressive.”

There is no clarity if Tom Brady will play any role in the coming draft, but the Raiders cannot ignore Fernando Mendoza after such colossal achievements. Before this, Mendoza also led the Hoosiers to their first Big Ten Championship since 1967.

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This year, he has a perfect winning record of 100% in 14 games. What makes it more unbelievable is 36 touchdowns and six interceptions for 3,172 passing yards at a pass completion rate of 72.3%.

With voices coming in to draft Mendoza, will the Raiders make other necessary changes? We will find out soon as their season is about to end.