It’s time to kick off our 2026 Pride of Detroit Community Mock Draft, where our commenters control all the picks. In this exercise, we have 31 members of our community representing 31 teams, and Pride of Detroit writer Erik Schlitt will general manage the Detroit Lions.
Each day, we’ll roll out a couple of picks until we get to the Lions’ selection. There, we’ll slow down, ask the community who they think Detroit should pick, then reveal Schlitt’s pick.
This draft will go a full two rounds and should lead us up right to the actual 2026 NFL Draft.
To kick things off, we have commenter akumaizer representing the Las Vegas Raiders with the first overall pick
And with the first selection of the 2026 Pride of Detroit Community Mock Draft, the Raiders select…
Fernando Mendoza, quarterback out of Indiana.
Here’s akumaizer explaining the pick:
No drama here. The Raiders are locked into this selection and have been treating their offseason as such. They signed the best available offensive lineman in free agency in center Tyler Linderbaum. They hired Klint Kubiak as head coach who brings a quarterback friendly system built on the things that Mendoza excels at: often playing under center with a strong running game (hello Ashton Jeanty) and a play-action passing game based on timing and anticipation with passes over the middle using quick processing and decision making. Also during free agency, they upgraded their defense from a talent standpoint and for better or for worse, kept All-Pro edge Maxx Crosby. An upgraded defense can only help a rookie quarterback.
At 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds, Mendoza has a prototypical frame and quick feet. While a great athlete, he is not as mobile as you would like a modern NFL quarterback to be, but he makes up for that in arm strength and the ability to place balls in tight windows. At Indiana, he consistently threw his receivers open while repeatedly showing poise and leadership.
The Raiders desperately need a quarterback and a new face of the franchise. There is only one quarterback in this draft worthy of this pick and Fernando Mendoza is the player that will turn the Oakland/Los Angeles/Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders around. There were no other considerations for this pick. In the alternate reality where Mendoza isn’t in this draft, it probably would have been Sonny Styles. We answered no phone calls and would have accepted no offers. It’s Mendoza.
Now, it’s time for the Pride of Detroit community to grade the pick. Offer your grade in the poll below, and explain your analysis in the comment section at the bottom of the page.
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