Former Raiders general manager gives John Spytek the advice that he wishes he could have followed during his time in Vegas
The Las Vegas Raiders are going to be on the clock soon to choose their player with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, and they cannot pass on Fernando Mendoza.
The Las Vegas Raiders will enter the 2026 season under a new regime determined to establish lasting stability. In the past, the Raiders cycled through coaches and general managers rapidly. That pattern ends now.
There’s a reason this time feels different. Klint Kubiak and John Spytek seem confident in their approach, and now the Raiders will finally get their franchise quarterback—Fernando Mendoza, the former Indiana star. For years, the Raiders have needed this chance to draft an elite rookie QB, and now, they cannot pass it up. No one knows that better than former GM Tom Telesco.
Former Raiders GM Tom Telesco inadvertently gives John Spytek advice
“There is no guarantee next year,” Telesco said on a podcast. “You don’t know where you’re drafting. Or last year at this time, we thought it would be a really good quarterback class this year, and it didn’t turn out to be. You just never know. People who say, ‘I know where the draft will be in’ — nobody knows.
“Yeah. If you’re there — if I’m there, you can’t offer me enough. I’m taking Mendoza.
Fully knowing they have plenty of cap space, I think they have a good amount of draft picks. They had a good amount of draft picks last year — I think they had 10 last year — or they got a good amount this year. And you start using… allocate your resources the best you can to put around Mendoza. But get him there.”
The Raiders have had two quarterbacks they really, really wanted over the last few years but failed to draft. They wanted to trade up with the Houston Texans to draft C.J. Stroud, and that failed. They weren’t high enough to take him or anyone else worth taking. Then, they wanted to trade up with the Washington Commanders to try to nab Jayden Daniels, and that didn’t work as well.
Now that the Raiders are positioned to select a quarterback, they will not let this opportunity slip away. I am confident they will act decisively.
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