3 takeaways from General Manager John Spytek's post-draft press conference

Apr 23, 2026 at 09:48 PM

Digital Team Reporter

Needless to say, there's an excitement in Raiders headquarters after selected Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 overall pick.

At the end of the first round of the draft, General Manager John Spytek spoke with local media regarding the team's decision to take the Heisman Trophy winner. Here are three pivotal things we learned from his comments.

1. Mendoza blew staff away in pre-draft process

The opportunity to meet Mendoza at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis was a pivotal moment for Spytek and the Raiders front office.

"I'm a big believer in the interactions," Spytek said post-draft. "You only get so many opportunities in front of them. They're not as long as you want, but I think you can tell a lot about a person in those in those interactions, and he was just always authentically himself. He was endearing. You could see the driven, almost the maniacal, driven part of it that makes a great QB."

At the Combine in February, Mendoza said that he had the opportunity to go over plays with Spytek, Klint Kubiak and a few other coaches during his interview. According to Spytek, the experience was invaluable in assisting their evaluation.

"His recall was incredible," Spytek said. "You could just put the play up there, and it would be from Week Two, and before you even push play, he knew what it was. He could talk you through it. They weren't all sunshine and rainbow plays either. There were some of them he screwed up, 'Oh yeah, I should have made this read.' And there was an honesty and a self-awareness to it ... and he had it.

"And I've been a part of a few other quarterback interviews like that before, but not very many."

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2. Trading No. 1 pick was never in question

According to Spytek, the Raiders never entertained trading out of the No. 1 pick.

He confirmed that a few teams reached out in hopes of trading up, but the team was sold on Mendoza.

"We had a few calls," Spytek said. "The answer was no. No was in a complete sentence."

He also mentioned that a few teams reached out about a potential draft day trade for Maxx Crosby, in which they also didn't entertain. The Raiders previously had a trade agreement with the Baltimore Ravens involving the edge rusher, but the Ravens ultimately backed out the agreement before the start of the new league year.

3. What makes Mendoza the right pick for Raiders?

Selecting Mendoza was a decision rooted not just in what he accomplished in college, but what they believe he can do in the right system.

Kubiak is expected to bring in a West Coast offense, predicated on zone blocking and athleticism. It's been mastered over the years by Mike and Kyle Shanahan and Klint's father Gary, who won Super Bowl 50 with the Denver Broncos.

Spytek believes Mendoza has all of the right attributes to successfully run Kubiak's system, with the quarterback already having a leg up in learning the scheme's concepts this offseason.

"It's a great scheme fit for us," the GM said. "He's big. He can see downfield. He can see over the middle of the field. He can throw those balls. He's athletic, so all the boots and the keepers that we like to run, he'll do well with. He has a good arm. He can throw the ball all over the field wherever it needs to be, and he's extremely accurate, which whatever system you play in as a quarterback, is important."

Along with Mendoza's physical traits, his personality traits were equally as desirable.

"Raised the right way, great family," Spytek said. "He's about the right things. It's about his team, it's about winning, it's about doing the right thing, being accountable to the whole organization. ... And he's really smart. He works really hard. This means a lot to him. I don't that being the first overall pick and winning the Heisman and all the things that he's gotten will change him. I think that it'll actually make him work harder to prove that he's worth all that and then earn even more."

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Las Vegas Raiders assistant general manager Brian Stark, General Manager John Spytek, Head Coach Klint Kubiak and vice president of player personnel Brandon Hunt in the draft room on day 1 of the 2026 NFL Draft at Las Vegas Raiders Headquarters.