2026 Nfl Mock Draft Roundup Experts Predict Raiders Go Qb At No 1

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Jan 10, 2026, 4:10 PM

2026 nfl mock draft roundup experts predict raiders go qb at no 1

The 2025 NFL regular season is now wrapped, and the league's 14-team postseason field is set. It also means that the 18 teams that failed to make the postseason now know exactly where their first-round selections for the 2026 NFL Draft will fall. The Las Vegas Raiders earned the No. 1 overall selection, and it is widely believed they will take a quarterback with the No. 1 pick. Many presume that it will be Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza, but could Dante Moore ultimately emerge as the Raiders' quarterback of choice?

Elsewhere, pass rushers like Arvell Reese, Rueben Bain Jr. and David Bailey are getting a lot of love as potential top-10 selections. Fittingly, Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love is also getting that same sort of attention. How could the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft look? Below are the latest expert projections with the top 18 picks set ahead of the wild-card round of the playoffs. The 2026 NFL Draft order is now set for the non-playoff teams at the end of the 2025 regular season.

Outside of the Falcons and Colts, who have traded their first-round picks, 16 teams know for sure when they are picking first on April 23. From the growing obvious choice at the top based on need and talent to the teams who just missed the postseason, here's the latest look at Sporting News' projections also with the College Football... MORE: Ranking NFL playoff teams 1-14 based on Super Bowl 60 chances Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana (6-5, 225 pounds) Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza’s NFL draft projections have the Heisman Trophy winner as a heavy favorite to be the No. 1 pick.

This means the Las Vegas Raiders could soon be replacing Geno Smith with Mendoza in the coming months if the latest NFL mock drafts prove true. Smith proved to be an expensive experiment gone wrong, and his future remains even more uncertain after Las Vegas fired Pete Carroll. The legendary coach pushed to trade for Smith in one of his first major moves with the Raiders, reuniting the former Seattle Seahawks. This reunion led to just three wins in 2025 and could ultimately usher in the Mendoza era in Vegas. Here’s what you need to know about Mendoza’s NFL draft stock. After transferring from Cal, Mendoza has accumulated quite a resume at Indiana.

After 20 games at Cal, Mendoza saved his best ball for the Big Ten. Picks 1 through 18 are set in the NFL Draft ... for now. Something tells me this is going to be an eventful draft season of trades for a number of reasons. That's because it's not a particularly strong crop of first-round talent. That means we'll see teams willing to move first-rounders for proven players.

I'd argue the last time we saw a first round this weak was 2022, and that year set the record with 18 trades involving first-round picks. That said, I'll play it straight with no trades, at least until we get past the Jan. 23 deadline for players to officially declare for the 2026 NFL Draft. Note: This is the current NFL Draft order after Week 18 (via Tankathon). The regular season has concluded, which means the first 18 selections in the 2026 NFL Draft are locked into place. Of course, there could be trades to shake that up — even the ones that we least expect.

With the Las Vegas Raiders and New York Jets picking 1-2 in the draft, people are expecting the clear-cut top quarterbacks in the class to go off the board in that order. But what if a wild card entered the chat with a trade offer to shake things up? That's where we're heading at the top of our first post-regular season 2026 NFL Mock Draft. Obviously, there's still quite a lot that needs to be decided in the NFL Playoffs, and then in free agency. That is to say, none of this should be written in stone just yet. However, with how things currently stand, we're projecting the entire first round of the 2026 draft, starting with the Raiders on the clock and making an obvious selection that, frankly, might be less obvious...

Fernando Mendoza should be the No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft, especially for a Raiders team that needs to not grasp at straws to find an answer at quarterback. He's a more athletic version of Kirk Cousins or Jared Goff (though I wouldn't call him a super athlete by any stretch), and that type of stability with a core of Ashton Jeanty and... Having said that, I'm not entirely convinced that the Raiders won't eventually get overly enamored with Dante Moore's upside, but for now, the pick is Mendoza. The thought of the Jets not taking a quarterback at No. 2 has been rattling around in my brain.

Naturally, I had to explore what that would look like. And with the Arizona Cardinals evaluating the future of Kyler Murray, what if the also quarterback-needy Cards traded up one spot, sent Murray to the Jets to answer the QB question, and then took... Because we're so early in the offseason, I'm not sure how in play this is — but I can say it's not unrealistic. And for the Cardinals, I love this direction. There have been so many ill-advised draft decisions over the years that has led to such a mismatched roster. Moore can be an equalizer in that, a player with C.J.

Stroud-like poise and arm talent that could start to elevate this team with a new coaching regime to the next level. The order for the first 18 picks in the 2026 NFL Draft is set. So it’s a perfect time for our latest mock draft As a new year begins, 14 NFL teams remain alive in the chase for Super Bowl LX. For the other 18 teams, the offseason has already begun. Coaches and general managers are losing their jobs, interviews are being lined up for their successors, and fans are scouring the internet for every little bit of hope.

Hope that when this time of the year rolls around next season, their teams will be the ones still alive in the chase for Super Bowl LXI. Of course, the 2026 NFL Draft is a big driver of that hope. So let’s take a look at how the draft could unfold, now that the order for the first 18 picks has been set. For this exercise there are no trades, and at the end of the draft we look at what teams without a first-round pick might do when they are on the clock. With the transfer policy and NIL revenue encouraging players to maximize their college eligibility, the 2026 NFL Draft lacks the bonanza of high-end talent we’ve seen in previous years. That said, there are plenty of future NFL starters — and even stars — at every position available.

Like always, the organizations whose scouting and coaching departments are aligned will likely improve their rosters the most with their selections between April 23-25 in Pittsburgh. But therein lies the cold reality. Many of the teams whose seasons just ended are facing massive decisions within their coaching and scouting departments. The Falcons just dismissed their head coach and general manager and personnel changes are expected elsewhere in the coming days, which will cause ripple effects throughout the league. There's still much to sort out, but the conclusion of the NFL’s regular season Sunday night locked in the selection order for the first 18 picks of the draft. And with the player pool clarifying each day as the college season finishes, we are now on the cusp of "draft season." With that, here's our latest 2026 mock draft.

It promises to be a fascinating offseason in Las Vegas, where Geno Smith's future is up in the air after head coach Pete Carroll was fired. Regardless of whether the Raiders bring back Smith, getting a fresh face at the game’s most important position is critical to keeping the fan base believing. Mendoza has looked every bit the No. 1 overall pick in earning the Heisman Trophy and guiding Indiana to a possible national championship. Mendoza’s physical traits — a prototypical frame, lightning-quick release, pocket mobility and accuracy to all levels of the field — warrant a first round selection, but it's his decision-making and poise that has turned... We're down to less than a week left of the NFL regular season in 2025.

All but two of the 14 playoff berths have been secured - leaving many teams on the outside looking in for Week 18. Before the regular season finale, many fanbases are already looking ahead to the offseason and how their favorite franchise could improve its roster. The best way to do that is through the NFL Draft, thanks to young, inexpensive talent that can develop into team cornerstones over time. The 2026 NFL Draft class will feature quarterbacks at the top. How many is a question, as some haven't declared for the draft yet. Beyond that, it will be another good class for defensive line and interior offensive line prospects.

It's a standout year for linebackers at a time when the league is desperate for more talent at the position. The top of the draft order changed with Week 17's results. There's a new team at No. 1: the Las Vegas Raiders. They're now in the driver's seat for the top pick entering the regular season finale. Who they pick and how the rest of the first round will go are burning questions for fans across the country.

We've compiled expert predictions from Pro Football Focus, CBS Sports, A to Z Sports and Bleacher Nation to see what every team in the first round could do:

2026 Nfl Mock Draft Roundup Experts Predict Raiders Go Qb At No 1

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