Speaking at his pre-draft press conference, Raiders GM John Spytek acknowledged they have gotten trade calls for the No. 1 pick, but wryly indicated they weren’t interested in moving down.
“We’ve gotten a few calls,” he said via Paul Gutierrez of the team website, “and those teams know where they stand right now.”
It’s been clear for months that the Raiders would take Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza with the top pick to hopefully solve their long-term need at quarterback, though they’ve still done the whole pre-draft process with him to check the boxes.
Spytek acknowledged this draft with the top pick has been a lot different than last year when they were at No. 6.
“A lot less energy spent on hypotheticals,” he said. “We were just talking before we came down here – there’s only one team that can get the exact person that they want. And we have that option available to us this year, if we so choose.”
Mendoza, 22, began his college career at Cal and became the starter as a redshirt freshman. He transferred to Indiana after two seasons and won a national championship and the Heisman Trophy.
He declared for the 2026 NFL Draft after the season.
Lance Zierlein compares him to Bengals QB Joe Burrow.
In 2025, Mendoza started 16 games for the Hoosiers and completed 72 percent of his pass attempts for 3,535 yards, 41 touchdowns and six interceptions. He added 90 rushes for 276 yards and seven touchdowns.
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