Latest / Bleacher Report / Micah's Take on Raiders Drafting Fernando Mendoza with No. 1 Overall Pick | 2026 NFL Draft

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Micah's Take on Raiders Drafting Fernando Mendoza with No. 1 Overall Pick | 2026 NFL Draft · Bleacher Report

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Michael what you're honest, Rieto Mendoza.
• 0:03
  Speaker 2: I think he's good, bro. But when you think of
• 0:05
  Speaker 2: like number one picks like in the century, like I
• 0:09
  Speaker 2: just don't know, Like I just don't know, Like number
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  Speaker 2: one is just such a blessing, bro. Yeah, And I
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  Speaker 2: think that, like.
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  Speaker 3: Say, you know what, let's let's do this.
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  Speaker 1: We'll let Trevor break it down officially, and then because
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: you're cooking something, right, yeah, right, the pick is officially
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  Speaker 1: in the number one pick of the draft has been selected.
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  Speaker 1: Fernando Mendoza from a two star recruit who is one
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  Speaker 1: hundred and fortieth in his class, a Heisman Trophy winner,
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  Speaker 1: a national champion, and now the first pick in the
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  Speaker 1: NFL Draft for the Las Vegas Raiders, a new era
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  Speaker 1: Trevor Sigma of Raiders before.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, look, we've been talking about it for four months.
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  Speaker 4: Let's break it down officially here. I think, first and
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  Speaker 4: foremost for Nanda Mendoza, he's built like an NFL quarterback.
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  Speaker 3: He's got the frame.
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  Speaker 4: He's over six foot four, he's almost six foot five,
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  Speaker 4: it's almost two hundred and forty pounds. Obviously, he's got
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  Speaker 4: the accolades as well. Wins the Heisman Trophy wins, the
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  Speaker 4: National Championship wins, all of the big games that you
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  Speaker 4: want to see. Reminds me a little bit of Carson
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  Speaker 4: Palmer when Carson Palmer was cooking back in his day,
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  Speaker 4: both with the Arizona Cardinals and with the Cincinnati Bengals.
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  Speaker 4: Very similar bill with these guys, and I think they
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  Speaker 4: played a pretty similar play style as well.
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  Speaker 3: When you watch Palmer ed his best going.
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  Speaker 4: To what Malik was talking about, that's ball placement. That's
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  Speaker 4: not just accuracy, like, that's ball placement right there. And
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  Speaker 4: I think that Mendoza has flashed those moments as well.
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  Speaker 4: Here we go back at the end zone, putting it
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  Speaker 4: where only his receiver can get it for a touchdown.
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  Speaker 3: Same thing.
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  Speaker 4: This is a little bit of what Michael was talking
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  Speaker 4: about that you need in the NFL.
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  Speaker 3: Playing under pressure.
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  Speaker 4: You got the blitz coming right at you, delivering that
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  Speaker 4: ball there. Not exactly the same play here for Mendoza,
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  Speaker 4: but right in the Brad basket fifty yards down the field.
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  Speaker 4: And so I think that comparison between those guys, they
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  Speaker 4: both had a little bit of extra athleticism to him
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  Speaker 4: as well. And the thing that I love the most
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  Speaker 4: about Mendoza, talk about him being a franchise quarterback. This
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  Speaker 4: is a player that you believe in. This is the
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  Speaker 4: fourth quarter of the National Championship game. You score this fotball,
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  Speaker 4: you basically seal it up in your National champions And
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  Speaker 4: this is a moment where Fernando didn't.
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  Speaker 3: Even do it with just his arm. He did it
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  Speaker 3: with his legs.
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  Speaker 4: Okay, you see the play all right, it's breaking down
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  Speaker 4: a little bit here. He knows that he's got a
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  Speaker 4: quick take off if the pocket breaks like this, so
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  Speaker 4: he saw it makes a guy miss, Okay, makes a
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  Speaker 4: tackle miss there, takes a hit, stays on his feet,
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  Speaker 4: going in the end zone, takes a shot to the
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  Speaker 4: open ribs, extending the football to go win the National championship.
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  Speaker 4: Look a look at how many offensive linemen have their
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  Speaker 4: hand in the air right here.
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  Speaker 3: This is what that kind of a play does for you.
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  Speaker 4: So to me, like those are the moves that I
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  Speaker 4: love for Fernanda Mendoza as well.
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  Speaker 3: So I'm with Maleague.
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  Speaker 4: I think that this is a player that is worth
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  Speaker 4: a number one overall pick, certainly in this class. Is
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  Speaker 4: he Joe Burrow? Is he Trevor Lawrence? You know he's
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  Speaker 4: a Kayleb Williams. No, not quite, but it is somebody
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  Speaker 4: that I think is worth investing in it. Because of that,
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  Speaker 4: I'm giving this this pick an A plus because the
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  Speaker 4: Raiders have built the entire offseason around being ready for
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  Speaker 4: this guy. So job well done and then finished your
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  Speaker 4: job here with the name plus.
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  Speaker 3: All right, now for our countiber, what scares you about him?
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  Speaker 2: Can y'all bring up that roster again for me?
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  Speaker 5: Please?
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  Speaker 2: They had the Death.
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: Of the Death of the Raider.
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  Speaker 5: Yes, after this clip, they'll put it out.
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  Speaker 3: So you can see it to your right over there.
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  Speaker 2: Okay, I get what he's saying, but I can't say
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  Speaker 2: they built this offense ready for Mendozo Like this isn't
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  Speaker 2: the offense run I'm saying, all right, he's going in
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  Speaker 2: with a number one receiver. He has someone like Malie
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  Speaker 2: Davis caliber Justin Jefferson and Jamar Chase brock Bauers are
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  Speaker 2: still their best offensive weapon on this team.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, you know what I mean.
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  Speaker 2: So do I say, like my thing is like with
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  Speaker 2: the Raiders, I would say, if I can't get the
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  Speaker 2: best player at that position value, do I trade back?
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  Speaker 2: Do I get rid of this number one pick and
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  Speaker 2: continue to go best available until you're in a position,
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  Speaker 2: because who would you have taken It just depends what
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  Speaker 2: pick they were. I think traded back, but at one
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  Speaker 2: you still would have taken. Yeah, you almost have to.
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  Speaker 3: But it's at this position.
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  Speaker 2: Does this team win you more than five games this
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  Speaker 2: year where you're not in the same position and you
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  Speaker 2: have the arch mannings of next year. I'm not saying
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  Speaker 2: arch can make a jump, but there's more quarterbacks coming
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  Speaker 2: into this next draft. Does he win you five games?
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  Speaker 2: Or does Kirk stay this way? Like, I just don't
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  Speaker 2: think this offense is ready to make that jump to say, oh,
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  Speaker 2: they're going to be a playoff contention right away.
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  Speaker 4: I think what he's saying there with the quarterbacks in
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  Speaker 4: twenty twenty seven is valid. Like I still would have
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  Speaker 4: gone with Mendoza here. He sounds like, you know, like
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  Speaker 4: if you're picking at one soul Micah.
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  Speaker 3: But the twenty twenty.
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  Speaker 4: Seven class does look like it could be kind of special.
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  Speaker 4: And that's more towards the why Ty Simpson might not
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  Speaker 4: go tonight.
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  Speaker 3: You know why Herrett Nessmeyer might go later.
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  Speaker 4: Than what we think because there's gonna be a lot
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  Speaker 4: of teams that are like, hey, we might as well
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  Speaker 4: just wait on quarterback.
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  Speaker 3: But I don't think the Raiders really. There's still a
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  Speaker 3: lot about it.
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  Speaker 5: What if, like what if? What if they live up
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  Speaker 5: to what we all claim they're going to be. I mean,
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  Speaker 5: if you rather do you rather get a now, I'll
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  Speaker 5: potentially mess up later on, later down the line. I
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  Speaker 5: mean personally, I think that the Raiders will get on
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  Speaker 5: the clock again soon and get a receiver. Nobody talked about.
• 5:13
  Speaker 3: You talked