No surprise here. The Raiders take the Heisman Trophy-winning national champion to begin anew at quarterback.

After fielding some trade offers, nothing came close to moving me. The Raiders have to finally take a quarterback in the first round, something they haven't done since JaMarcus Russell. Mendoza projects as a great fit in Klint Kubiak's offense and, hopefully, signals a new era of stability for this franchise.

I have no doubt that Fernando Mendoza is the best available QB in this class, and until there are signals otherwise, there's no reason not to have him going No. 1 to a Raiders team desperate for a QB. Still, while I like Mendoza a lot and love some of his intangibles, I'm not convinced he's a franchise guy at the NFL level.

The Raiders have a new quarterback!

We've known for months that Las Vegas would take Fernando Mendoza at No. 1, but the lack of suspense takes nothing away from the fact the team just landed a franchise QB. The Raiders ranked 30th in QBR over the past two seasons (33.2), with five passers starting at least one game over that time. Geno Smith threw 17 interceptions in 2025. And the team mustered 5.0 yards per dropback, among the four worst in the NFL. But Mendoza changes everything there -- there is suddenly real promise under center.

His rise in 2025 was incredible. He threw 41 touchdown passes en route to an undefeated record, the Heisman Trophy, a national championship and now the No. 1 pick of the draft. Mendoza is very precise with his ball location and can dial up any throw, with a miniscule 7.1% off-target rate. He's going to elevate this offense for coach Klint Kubiak immediately.

There were a lot of strong picks on Day 2 and Day 3, too. Treydan Stukes is a versatile safety who wears a lot of hats. He can stick with receivers in coverage (4.33-second 40-yard dash), he can hit and he can make plays on the ball (four interceptions last season). If not for a torn ACL in 2024 that cost him a chunk of that season and the first few games of 2025, he might have done enough to warrant a first-round pick. Keyron Crawford can bring some depth and juice to the edge rush.

Outside of Mendoza, Round 4 could define the rest of the Raiders' draft class. To kick off Day 3, Las Vegas stopped Jermod McCoy's slide. McCoy was in the conversation for CB1 in the class all season based on his tape and attributes. But he suffered a torn ACL in January 2025, missed the entire season and sat out the combine. I kept him at No. 29 on my board, but it's clear teams weren't comfortable with how the knee was progressing. When healthy, he's excellent and picked off four passes in 2024. But will he get healthy? At this point in the draft, it's worth finding out.

And then Vegas picked Mike Washington Jr. Ashton Jeanty, last year's No. 6 pick, isn't going anywhere, but Washington can bring a speed factor to the table. The 6-1, 223-pound running back ran a scorching 4.33 in the 40 at the combine. Per ESPN Research, it tied for the fastest 40 time over the past 20 combines for players weighing at least 220 pounds (joining DK Metcalf and Isaac Guerendo). He can add a pass-catching factor on third down, too. Getting my RB3 at No. 122 is a win.

I do wonder where the receivers are, though. Las Vegas was working on improving the supporting cast around Mendoza, signing Kirk Cousins as a veteran mentor and Tyler Linderbaum as his new center. But the skill positions left a lot to be desired beyond the team's past two first-round picks, tight end Brock Bowers and Jeanty. Tre Tucker and Jalen Nailor are still the top two WRs on the roster. I would have thought Zachariah Branch or Antonio Williams would have been in play in Round 3.

It didn't take a genius to pick QB Fernando Mendoza No. 1 overall (sorry, Spytek), but he will obviously define this draft through his ability to lift — or not — this long-suffering franchise out of a decades-long quagmire. But getting players like DB Treydan Stukes (second round), CB Jermod McCoy (fourth) and RB Mike Washington Jr. (fifth) is quite the needed talent infusion — the gamble on McCoy and his highly scrutinized knee atop Round 4 a calculated risk with too much upside to bypass. It's almost like getting the extra first-round pick the Silver and Black sought earlier this year while getting to keep DE Maxx Crosby.