Fernando Mendoza, the No 1 pick of NFL Draft to the Raiders, tasked with returning a legacy franchise to glory

Joel Klatt joins Colin Cowherd to preview the 2026 NFL Draft, discuss Sonny Styles’ draft stock, and ask if Fernando Mendoza will live up to the hype.

The block around Fernando Mendoza’s home in Coral Gables, Florida was roped off by early afternoon on Thursday and the roast pig – a lechon asado to Cubans like the Mendozas – was in the Caja China all day.

No, Mendoza didn’t make it to Pittsburgh for the 2026 NFL draft. But his family's draft party in South Florida was, by all accounts, epic.

And that’s the way it should be because it was befitting of Mendoza being selected by the Las Vegas Raiders as the first overall pick of the draft.

Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza speaks to the media during the College Football Playoff National Championship game media day at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Fla., on Jan. 17, 2026. (Leonardo Fernandez/Getty Images)

"The last five month have been such a blessing by God, I can't thank him enough," Mendoza said in his first interview after being selected. "I'm just looking forward to get to work, improve at the next level. College was fantastic. I'm so bless to have that career.

"But now I step into a great game, the NFL, look forward to proving and earning it every single day."

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Not bad for a kid who used to occasionally confess to family, friends and teammates, "I don't imagine myself a high draft pick."

That all changed when Mendoza transferred to Indiana University before the 2025 season, and out of that unlikely college football power came the improbable Heisman Trophy winner, national championship winning quarterback, and first pick in the draft.

The Raiders