The Las Vegas Raiders are moving into a reset built around protection, and the plan is already taking shape. After finishing tied for the league’s worst record at 3-14 in the 2025 season and landing the No. 1 overall pick, the Raiders are expected to make Fernando Mendoza the first name off the board later this month.
That is why the team’s offseason has been so aggressive. The Raiders brought in Klint Kubiak for the head coaching role, overhauled the defense and added Tyler Linderbaum on a record-setting contract, a sequence of moves that suggests they are not treating the top pick as a gamble but as a starter who needs immediate help.
The numbers behind the turnaround make the approach hard to miss. Kevin Clark said on The Wingo Network that the Raiders were “signing the most expensive center in history” and added, “I’m good with the $5 million a year extra because you’re in that system.” His point was straightforward: if Mendoza is the choice, the Raiders are trying to build the pocket before the rookie ever takes a hit.
Clark also drew a line to the Tennessee Titans’ approach before they selected Cam Ward No. 1 overall last year, saying the Raiders were doing something smart by not waiting and “letting Fernando Mendoza get the crap knocked out of him.” He said the team is “upgrading in a bunch of different places” and, in his view, giving a young quarterback a cleaner landing spot than most top picks get.
That matters because the Raiders entered the 2025 season with elevated expectations and never came close to them. A 3-14 finish brought the season to a collapse, but it also delivered the No. 1 pick and the chance to hit reset without ambiguity. Mendoza is the 2025 Heisman Trophy winner and 2025 national champion, and all signs point to Las Vegas making him the centerpiece of what comes next.
The Raiders have not publicly said they will use the top pick on Mendoza, but the rest of the offseason reads like an answer already written. They hired a new head coach, spent heavily in free agency and reinforced the roster around the idea that a young quarterback needs stability more than slogans. Trey Wingo said on the same show that he feels better about the Raiders than he has in the last decade, and for a franchise that has spent too long searching for a direction, that may be the clearest measure of how much has changed.