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Many believe Fernando Mendoza will be the No. 1 overall pick of the Las Vegas Raiders in the NFL draft in April no matter what.
Well, that narrative just took a big step toward becoming reality.
Wednesday, Oregon quarterback Dante Moore announced he will go back to school for the 2026 season and not enter the draft. Mendoza and Moore were expected to be the top two prospects in the draft.
The Raiders, of course, own the No. 1 pick and badly need a quarterback. It’s been widely expected that Mendoza will be the choice, especially after he completely outplayed Moore in a semifinal game last week.
But the truth is, the Raiders would have closely studied Moore in the draft processs as well. While Mendoza would have been the favorite, the team wouldn’t have made up it’s mind for months.
There are no other quarterbacks considered to be worthy of a top pick. Mendoza must declare next week after the Hoosiers play Miami in the NCAA championship game Monday. He is widely expected to do so.
So, it seems the Raiders’ choices at No. 1 will either be to draft Mendoza or trade the pick. The New York Jets, who pick No. 2, could have major interest and they have a lot of draft ammo.
While this is considered a weak overall quarterback class, the 2027 class is expected be excellent with Arch Manning, Moore, LaNorris Sellers, Julian Saying, CJ Carr and DJ Lagway currently all expected to be top prospects.
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