The Las Vegas Raiders could feasibly walk out of the 2026 NFL Draft with a future franchise quarterback and a tackle to protect him for years to come.
New head coach Klint Kubiak’s arrival has given the Silver and Black’s fan base some much-needed hope. Hope alone, however, won’t turn around the Raiders. They’ll need key contributors at some of the most important positions on the field to generate a pathway to winning. Fortunately, Kubiak, an offensive guru, plans to address that through a signal-caller and the right offensive tackle to keep him upright.
Doing so will require some shrewd maneuvering by general manager John Spytek and the front office on Day 1.
That aggressiveness comes at a price. The Houston Texans hold the 28th overall pick, and Spytek would need to make a move to acquire it. The cost would not exactly break the bank, but would Vegas pull the trigger? For the sake of this mock draft, the answer is yes.
Raiders receive: 28th overall pick
Texans receive: Round 2 No. 36 pick, ’27 4th round pick
Raiders Mock Draft: New head coach Klint Kubiak gets his foundation on offense…
Round 1, No. 1: Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana
Fernando Mendoza is not perfect, and the numbers say so plainly.
His pressure-to-sack rate last season ranked 36th out of 57 draft-eligible quarterbacks. Over his final seven games, it got worse, jumping to 27.7%, which is nearly identical to his career rate of 27.1%. That kind of consistency in the wrong direction is hard to ignore.
But here is the thing: he also has a moment that erases a lot of doubt.
In the Big Ten Championship Game against Ohio State, Mendoza was outstanding. He took hit after hit and never buckled, delivering big throw after big throw when it mattered most. No quarterback prospect last season had a better individual game. Full stop.
The player he draws the most comparisons to is Matt Ryan, and it is not a stretch. Same tall, lean build. Same cool under pressure. Ryan even moved similarly coming out of Boston College. When the Falcons built around Ryan the right way, he became one of the best quarterbacks in the league.
The Raiders believe Mendoza can follow that same path. Whether that belief pays off depends largely on whether Las Vegas builds the roster to support him. So far, that appears to be exactly the plan.
Round 1, No. 28: Monroe Freeling, OT, Georgia
Monroe Freeling is not your typical offensive tackle prospect, and that is what makes him so intriguing.
At 6-7 with 34-inch arms, he is built differently than most players at his position. Pass rushers have to work around a lot of length just to get to the quarterback, and Freeling makes them pay for mistakes. His background in basketball shows up in the way he moves, recovers and stays balanced through contact. Over 747 snaps against some of the best edge rushers in college football last season, he held his own in pass protection while dealing with an ankle injury the entire time. That says something about his makeup.
The concerns, though, are real.
Run blocking is the weaker side of his game, especially in situations where getting low and driving through a defender is the whole assignment. He tends to stand too upright, which kills his power and makes him easier to beat. He also needs to add weight before he is ready to handle the biggest, strongest defensive linemen the NFL has to offer.
Freeling has the tools to develop into a very good NFL offensive tackle. But he is not a finished product yet. The Raiders would be drafting the player he is becoming, not the player he is today.
*Top Photo: Ramble Illustration/Getty Images