To the surprise of absolutely no one, Heisman Trophy winner and National Champion quarterback Fernando Mendoza has officially declared he's leaving school for the 2026 NFL Draft.
He even updated his LinkedIn profile, the only form of "social media" he's been using during this legendary run.
The official declaration by Mendoza not only gives the 2026 NFL Draft class its clear QB1, but has likely set in motion the Las Vegas Raiders' entire offseason plan. With Mendoza in the pool of available prospects, the next Raiders' head coach likely knows who will be under center for his team, and the front office can start putting together a plan for attacking free agency in less than two months.
Raiders can start planning the rest of their offseason with Fernando Mendoza news official
Fernando Mendoza has updated his LinkedIn 👀
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) January 21, 2026
And it's everything you would expect and more😂👏 pic.twitter.com/VALPLLbOyK
It's pretty fortunate for a team like the Raiders to be entering an offseason without a head coach or quarterback to not really have to think too much about the decision that needs to be made with the #1 overall pick in the draft. There's no Peyton Manning vs. Ryan Leaf situation going on. The no-brainer selection with the top pick is going to be Mendoza, and it's not particularly close.
Knowing that three months in advance can be hugely advantageous for the Raiders, who already have the benefit of offering massive contracts in free agency with no income tax.
The first order of business is likely going to be getting rid of Geno Smith, which will give the Raiders minimal cap savings ($8 million if he's not a post-June 1 designation). The second order of business is likely a recruiting pitch from whoever ends up as the team's new head coach to star pass rusher Maxx Crosby.
Right now, there's friction between the Raiders and Crosby due to the fact that he was essentially forced to sit out the final two games of the season against his will. That did not sit well with Crosby, who prides himself on playing every snap if possible, and even playing through pain if he has to.
That will be the most important recruiting job done by whoever the Raiders hire as their head coach, but beyond that, the team has two clear action points in NFL Free Agency that simply cannot be overstated.
First and foremost, the Raiders need to fix their offensive line. It's great to think about Fernando Mendoza being the guy throwing passes to Brock Bowers and handing it off to Ashton Jeanty, but the guys they have blocking for him will matter more than anything else when he gets into the fold.
The second most important order of business for the Raiders is finding another core piece of the roster defensively, either via trade or free agency. Because of the fact that they're using the #1 pick on a quarterback in all likelihood, they simply cannot afford to miss out on the biggest names available this offseason on the free agency and trade markets.
Last year's strategy of shopping in the sale section didn't yield the results that lead to winning football games. It's time to spend some cash.
It would be an absolute shock if the Raiders didn't take a similar strategy to what we saw from the Chicago Bears last year, absolutely loading up on offensive line talent early and often in the offseason and then attacking the defensive side of the ball.
They have the ultimate salary cap flexibility right now. They have solid core pieces. They know they are going to be taking Fernando Mendoza. Now, it's time for the Raiders to do what so many other teams fail to do early on and get their quarterback an elite offensive line right away.