Kirk Herbstreit questioned Fernando Mendoza’s relationship with LV

The Las Vegas Raiders an exciting offseason awaits. Kubakov’s Clins Las as their next coach. They also have the first overall pick in 2026 NFL draftwhich could be Indiana KB Fernando Mendoza. But one NFL draft analyst recently questioned that pairing.

Analyst Kirk Herbstreit questioned the fit Mendoza with the Raiders during a recent interview.

“I really think he’s a typical guy, we don’t have a left tackle, we don’t have a right tackle, we need some receivers, we really need a running back. That’s not the guy,” Herbstreit said Monday on This Is Football. “But if you’ve got a couple of tight games, if you’ve got an offensive line that you feel good about, if you’ve got a capable running back, you’ve got a couple of receivers, you just need a quarterback, he’s the guy.”

The The Raiders have Ashton Jeanty and Brock Bowers as established starters. However, Las Vegas has a questionable offensive line and limited talent outside of Bowers and Genty.

“So it depends on how you rate the Raiders or other teams. I just don’t think he’s like Justin Herbert coming out of Oregon that he’s that skilled,” Herbstreit added. “We’ll grow around him and eventually he’ll be good enough to keep us afloat, but eventually we’ll be elite when we get the right pieces around him. He’s not the guy.”

It’s hard to pass too much judgment on the Raiders this early in the offseason. Kubiak has yet to assemble his coaching staff before the team starts working on the list.

Raiders they have the second largest enclosure space in the NFL heading into the offseason. They also boast 10 selections in the 2026 NFL Draft. So it’s reasonable to be optimistic about Las Vegas building a support system around Mendoza before his rookie season.

Ultimately, Herbstreit admitted it’s hard to predict how a cerebral running back like Mendoza will translate to the NFL.

“I’m not looking at his ability. I just think he’d be a good fit. He’s a smart guy. He’s going to hurt you with his mind, his preparation, his processing, which I think is very hard to gauge when it comes to a college quarterback going to the pros.”

It will be fascinating to see how the Raiders approach the offseason with the possibility of adding Mendoza looming over every decision.