Projected Raiders top pick Fernando Mendoza explains decision to stay home from draft

Adam Hill, Las Vegas Review-Journal on Apr 20, 2026

Published in Football

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LAS VEGAS — It has been a whirlwind year for presumed No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza, who is expected to become a member of the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday.

All of the iconic moments he has created have meant a lot of travel for his family, particularly his mother who is stricken with multiple sclerosis.

That’s a big part of why he has elected to stay at home in Miami to enjoy his NFL draft moment rather than attend the event in Pittsburgh on Thursday.

“It was a family decision,” he told Yahoo on Monday. “I wanted to be there with everyone who has supported me on this football journey and for the start of this new opportunity, whether it’s coaches, mentors, family, or friends who have helped me get to this point.

“I believe it’s important to make this memory with them.”

That group of supporters has attended many regular-season games in addition to the Big Ten Championship, the playoff games and national title game and the Heisman Trophy ceremony.

The family also will have an early Friday morning flight to the city of the NFL team that selects him, likely Las Vegas.

“My mom wanted to stay at home,” he said. “It’s easier. We’ll be on a flight the next day at 7 a.m., so getting ready for that anyway. And although (the draft is) great, I believe the best thing to do is spend it with the people who have made me who I am.”

All signs obviously point to Mendoza joining the Raiders, a team with which he has met with on three occasions throughout the pre-draft process.

After a formal meeting at the NFL combine, there was a follow-up virtual meeting and then a top-30 visit to the team’s facility earlier this month.

“I believe they all went well, so I’m looking forward to it if they call my name on Thursday night,” he said, adding he spoke with minority owner Tom Brady both on FaceTime during the combine interview and then in person at the top-30 visit. “Those were both awesome experiences to be able to talk with him and take little nuggets.

“He’s mentioned that whatever quarterback they select, or whoever they sign such as Kirk Cousins, he’s going to pour into them and give them advice, so I’m looking forward to that if I get selected to the Raiders.”

Mendoza has not confirmed whether the Raiders have told him they plan to select him.

He insists he’s just looking forward to getting picked at all.

“It’s a great blessing,” he said. “I’m really excited and looking forward to spending the time with my family back home in Miami and looking forward to the opportunity. I believe it’s a new beginning, not an end. I’m excited for that.”

Mendoza said during a separate appearance on “Up & Adams” that the family plans to roast an entire pig, a 24-hour process.

He also told Kay Adams he has grown much more comfortable taking snaps under center and playing in a West Coast offense after working with Brian Griese the last few months.

“My goal is to be the best quarterback come September,” he said. “With Brian, I was able to work a lot of under center and a lot of the pro concepts I’d be running in any offense. So Day 1, I’ll be comfortable under center, staying in cadence and calling a play in the huddle. I want to try to eliminate some of those learning curves that might take a week or so for other rookie quarterbacks at mini-camp so I can be best fitted to the system I’m in.

“It’s going to take a while and I’m very far from a finished product.”

Mendoza likely will have a mentor in Kirk Cousins, who signed with the Raiders earlier this month.

He was able to meet him in the Raiders facility during his visit, but he was already very familiar with the veteran after watching all of his Vikings clips while Mendoza was still at Cal and trying to learn from NFL quarterbacks.

“To be able to have this full-circle moment with someone I’ve studied and to potentially have the opportunity to play with someone who’s a man of God, who is very cerebral and has had so much success throughout his career would be an absolute blessing,” Mendoza said. “And whatever nuggets he would want to give, I would take in and emulate in my own game.

“Hopefully I can be teammates with him because he’s not only a great player, but a great leader of men.”