The Las Vegas Raiders are on the clock.
After the New York Giants‘ victory over the Dallas Cowboys in Week 18, the Silver and Black officially locked up the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
The Raiders entered the final week at 2-14, losing 10 straight games heading into their matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs. The result of that game will not matter for the Raiders’ first-round draft position.
Head coach Pete Carroll and quarterback Geno Smith were once expected to turn the downtrodden franchise around, but the former Seattle Seahawks duo couldn’t carry over their past success.
This will be the second time in club history that the Raiders will select first overall. The other time was in 2007, when the then-Oakland Raiders took LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell — who was out of the league quickly after three seasons.
The Raiders are once again in need of a quarterback, and there are a few viable candidates in 2026. Unlike recent years with Cam Ward and Caleb Williams, there’s no obvious selection at the top.
Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza and Oregon’s Dante Moore are potential options at QB, with the Heisman-winning Mendoza looking like the most likely pick in the early stages.
The 2026 NFL Draft is set for April 23-25 in Pittsburgh. With the top 18 picks set after Week 18, start preparing for months of speculation.
Fernando Mendoza, Miami native and the mercurial quarterback of No. 1 Indiana, won the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night, becoming the first Hoosier to win college football’s most prestigious award since its inception in 1935.