The Raiders are sitting on one of the most valuable no. 1 picks the NFL Draft has witnessed in years and according to NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah, the Jets would jump on the opportunity to get Fernando Mendoza if Tom Brady and company would consider trading the first pick in the draft.
“I think the Jets would effort with all the picks that they’ve accumulated, to try and see if they could pry that pick away from the Raiders,” Jeremiah said on The Rich Eisen Show. “The buzz down here among all the teams is there’s no chance the Raiders would trade off of that pick. They’re going to get their guy.”
“You think the Jets would trade up for Fernando Mendoza?” Eisen asked.
“I 100 percent think they would. 100 percent,” Jeremiah answered.
The Raiders have experienced their fair share of bad luck in recent years, but the opportunity to take Mendoza is the most exciting draft development the organization has encountered since 2014 when Reggie McKenize was able to land Khalil Mack and Derek Carr in the first two rounds of the draft.
Every indication is that the first pick isn’t going to be available, but it would be interesting to learn about the trade offers the Raiders will receive in the next three months.
Last year, the Titans were reportedly offered two first-round picks and a couple day 2 draft picks for Cam Ward.
In hindsight, the Giants probably got lucky the Titans rejected the trade because Jaxson Dart looks to have as much career upside as Ward and maybe more… plus the Giants were able to draft Abdul Carter with the no. 3 pick they ended up not sending to Tennessee.
The Raiders were too far down in the 2025 draft to get Ward and Dart wasn’t considered by most to be worthy of a top 10 pick.
It was rumored that former GM Tom Telesco would have wanted to draft Dart, but with Tom Brady and John Spytek calling the shots, Dart wasn’t as high on the Vegas draft board.
“It makes a lot of sense when we talk about all the connections that Shedeur had to the Raiders. I just think that if [Antonio Pierce] and Tom Telesco had still been here, I think the General Manager would have been pounding the table for somebody else and that would have been Jaxson Dart,” the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vinny Bonsignore said in November.
A day earlier on his radio show, Bonsignore shared more details on the dynamic between Telesco and Dart.
“The former general manager loved Jaxson Dart to the point where he literally went to, I don’t know if I’ve said this publicly or on air, but Tom Telesco bought a ticket. Bought a ticket. He didn’t go, usually general managers go to college games and sit in the booth, but he didn’t want anybody to know that he was there,” Bonsignore said on the Morning Tailgate on Monday.
“It was the Gator Bowl, I believe,” Bonsignore continued. “Whatever bowl game Ole Miss was in, he goes, I bought a ticket, sat in the stands to watch him one more time play live. That was who the Raiders really liked.”
“Now, it was, you never know how a draft’s going to play out, and it’s still January. They both got fired in January, so a lot can happen in the draft. So what I’ll say is, I think the first preference would have been Jaxson Dart somewhere along the line, maybe not with the sixth pick, but somewhere along the line. And if they didn’t get Jaxson Dart somehow, someway, I do think Shedeur Sanders would have been a Raider. I don’t think the Raiders would have passed on him…””
x: @raidersbeat
And all those assumptions have turned out to be S##t. The O line and defense wouldn’t have help them succeed. What makes today any different? One guy doesn’t make a team!! You have a chance now to make a difference with a young QB and start a dynasty? What ever it takes RAIDERS! Mike Lafluer still out there!!
And Mendoza (as of today) is in a better position to succeed? Obviously, the hope is the roster is better and the 2025 rookies have developed by the time the season starts, but they’re still likely to be bad this year.
Raiders are selecting Mendoza with that pick so sorry jets!
Unbelievable.
I’d make the trade for two reasons.
He’s so college great and has a zero pro skill set and that trade gives us capital for that franchise Q next season.
Building lines that have a season to learn and gel together for that Q AND create a legit run game further helping your Q.
Too many that want to shoot their load as soon as they get it wet.
Who says he has to play maybe he sits for a year while we build that line, I think you’re a KC fan and your worried
What would it take to where the Raiders would HAVE to accept the offer? 4 1sts? 5?
Just as a hypothetical….
Last year I was all in on Jaxson Dart over Sanders and then everybody got fired and they drafted a RB, fast forward today Carroll, he’s gone, and now we have the first pick, the last time we had the first pick they drafted Russell which was a massive bust, and you cannot compare Russell with Mendoza and Russell was that good start with, to trade the pick away could get you a bunch of pics, but no guarantees that next year a QB or having the first overall pick again is it possible to guess and no guarantees that next year Manning is even coming out he may pull a Eli on you or a Peyton and stay another year, the risk is too high to take a chance, Mendoza is the answer and build with him and Brock, Gente, JPJ, Beck, Turner and some of the young guys that’s on your roster and build your team you have a shitload of money to spend in free agency, so it’s time to do it right this time and actually build a team and stop letting Young players leave the building, you have a bad history of that, they leave and become pro bowlers are playing in the Super bowl, Raider Nation is watching