POD Community Mock: With the 1st pick, the Raiders select…
With the first overall pick our community NFL Mock Draft, the Las Vegas Raider select QB Fernando Mendoza.
MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - JANUARY 19: Fernando Mendoza #15 of the Indiana Hoosiers rushes with the ball against the Miami Hurricanes in the 2026 College Football Playoff National Championship at Hard Rock Stadium on January 19, 2026 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) | Getty Images 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.