Let’s catch you up on the latest Las Vegas Raiders musings, including Fernando Mendoza getting notable praise and more Maxx Crosby conjecture.
First things first, what’s the latest with Mendoza, who will inevitably be the No. 1 overall pick in April?
Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner called Fernando Mendoza the safest pick in this draft class, and he is not wrong. But “safe” and good are not synonyms, and in Las Vegas, the difference matters enormously. So, technically, Warner isn’t wrong.
Mendoza is the best quarterback available in 2026. That part is settled. He won the Heisman, led Indiana to a perfect 16-0 season and a national championship, and threw 41 touchdown passes doing it. The resume is exceptional. The class around him is thin. The Raiders hold the pick. The math is simple. Not even the Silver and Black could screw this up.
The concern is not whether Mendoza goes No. 1. He will. The concern is what happens after. Are the Raiders ready to go through with everything that comes with that: scheme, preparation, personnel, etc.?
Legitimate concerns surrounding Fernando Mendoza…
When defenses got in his face at Indiana, his completion percentage dropped to 50 percent, and it fell even further when he had to throw on the move. He also spent almost his entire college career in the shotgun, rarely lining up under center, and in the NFL, teams do that on roughly a third of their plays. Those two things sound like scouting report fine print, but they are actually the blueprint every defensive coordinator in the league will use against him.
Defensive coordinators at the next level will expose a quarterback who has never truly been stress-tested at full speed against elite athletes. This isn’t meant to be “hating”; rather, it’s a legitimate concern. Especially if you’re the Raiders’ brain trust.
Warner pointed something out worth noting…
Warner himself, before singing Mendoza’s praises, said he believed every quarterback should throw at the combine if invited. Mendoza declined. Warner did not make a huge deal of it, but he said it. That is a Hall of Fame quarterback, someone who grabbed every opportunity he was ever given, quietly raising an eyebrow.
The Raiders have done everything right around him. They signed one of the best centers in football to protect him and cleared the starting job entirely. The runway is wide open.
But runways do not throw the ball. Mendoza will be the pick, and he may absolutely be the guy. The point is simply this: Warner called him safe, not transcendent. In a city built on people confusing those two things, that distinction is worth remembering.
Speaking of distinction and confusion, is there still a chance that the Raiders move on from Maxx Crosby? Raiders fans are under the impression it’s all water under the bridge now.
Will the Raiders still trade Maxx Crosby?
The Raiders want credit for keeping Crosby. They do not deserve it. They tried to trade him to Baltimore; the deal fell apart because Crosby reportedly did not pass a physical, and now they are out here acting like they never tried to move him in the first place. That is not loyalty. That is just a trade that did not go through.
The “Maxx is a Raider” stuff that came after was spin. Because right after the deal collapsed, the Raiders went out and spent big in free agency, signing players with money they only had because they expected Crosby to be gone. You cannot plan your entire offseason around a guy being off your books and then turn around and call him part of the family. Pick one.
ESPN’s Kimberly Martin said it simply: it is not a matter of if he gets traded; it is when. That is not a hot take. That is just paying attention. The Raiders already tried to trade him once. The motivation is still there. The money is still a factor. All they are waiting on is the right team and the right number.
Crosby is 28 years old and one of the best pass rushers in the league. He deserves a straight answer. The Raiders will have a new quarterback, a rebuilt roster and a plan going forward. The question they keep avoiding is whether Crosby is actually in that plan or whether they are just holding onto him until someone makes a cleaner offer.
*Top Photo: Getty ImagesÂ