Raiders Receiving Interest In No. 1 Pick

This year, the QB1 is Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, who has long been considered a lock for the Raiders with the first overall selection. That has not stopped teams from reaching out to Las Vegas about trading up, general manager John Spytek revealed on Tuesday.

“We’ve gotten a few calls, and those teams know where they stand,” Spytek said (via ESPN’s Ryan McFadden), an indication that the Raiders have no intention of moving their pick.

The Bears were willing to trade in the No. 1 overall pick in 2023, which resulted in a major blockbuster with the Panthers, who drafted Bryce Young. Among the picks sent to Chicago was Carolina’s 2024 first-rounder, which turned out to be the top pick that year. Again, the Bears fielded calls from teams who wanted to move up for Caleb Williams, but they never seemed to consider another trade down as a real option. The Patriots, who were drafting third, also received interest in their pick with teams looking to draft Drake Maye. Both teams stayed put and are likely thankful they did so.

The jury is still out on Tennessee resisting overtures for the No. 1 pick last year and sticking with Cam Ward. The Giants, who were among the teams who pursued Maye, sent multiple offers to the Titans all the way up until draft day. Presumably, their haul would have been similar to the Panthers’ package in 2023, two first- and two second-round picks.

The Raiders should be able to receive that kind of value this year, especially in a draft class with only one consensus first-round quarterback. Next year’s draft offers a deeper crop of prospects to choose from, and trading the No. 1 pick would give them the ammunition to land a quarterback from that group.

But ultimately, a trade does not make sense for the Raiders. Between their coaching change and roster upgrades, they are positioned to have a much better season than their 3-14 2025 campaign, resulting in a lower first-round pick. With multiple teams targeting quarterbacks in the 2027 draft, it may be difficult for Las Vegas to land their desired prospect. Other teams may not be willing to trade down, and even if they are, the Raiders will have to outbid other suitors. That is a much more complicated and uncertain proposition than simply drafting Mendoza this year and calling it a day.

Spytek suggested that Las Vegas is thinking along the same lines.

“If there’s a player that stands out that we feel it’s not worth losing, it’s not worth even picking up the phone, then we’ll just make the pick,” Spytek continued. “But if it’s a player that we’re not as excited about, or there’s a group of players that we would love to pick from, and we can get value for that, we’re certainly open to listening to that.”