Jeremiah: Raiders No.1

Daniel Jeremiah’s final mock draft has the Las Vegas Raiders staying at No. 1 and taking Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza hours before the 2026 National Football League draft begins. (nfl.com) Jeremiah published the projection on April 23 and wrote that Mendoza had held the top spot in his mock drafts “from start to finish” this cycle. Round 1 is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, April 23, in Pittsburgh. (nfl.com) The Raiders earned the first pick after a 3-14 season, and the franchise is drafting first overall for the first time since 2007. NFL records list Las Vegas with 10 total picks in the 2026 draft, including No. 1 overall and No. 36 in Round 2. (nfl.com, nfl.com) Mendoza enters the draft as the quarterback most often tied to that spot. ESPN’s draft coverage called him the top quarterback in the class, and Jeremiah’s first mock in February also sent him to Las Vegas at No. 1. (espn.com, nfl.com) His rise was built on a title run at Indiana. ESPN reported that Mendoza won the Heisman Trophy, led the Hoosiers to their first national championship, and then declared for the draft in January. (espn.com) Jeremiah’s final board also sketches the shape of the top of Round 1 beyond quarterback. NFL.com’s summary says his first 32 picks include four projected trades, with early selections tilted toward quarterbacks and front-seven defenders such as edge rushers and linebackers. (nfl.com) That matters on draft day because Jeremiah’s mocks are built around league sourcing as well as film study. In his first mock, he wrote that he tends to base those projections on what he is hearing around the league, while using his Top 50 rankings for his own evaluations. (nfl.com) The uncertainty, in Jeremiah’s telling, starts after the first pick. He wrote in the final mock that the board becomes difficult to predict beyond No. 1, which is why his projection includes multiple trades later in the round. (nfl.com) If that read holds, the first name called Thursday night will be the same one attached to the Raiders for months: Fernando Mendoza to Las Vegas at No. 1. (nfl.com, nfl.com)