The Las Vegas Raiders are in full force at the College Football National Championship game in Miami, Florida. Owners Mark Davis and Tom Brady, along with general manager John Spytek, will be in attendance to scout Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who many expect to be the player the team selects with the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
While the main reason they’re all going to the game is to scout Mendoza, there will be plenty of other potential NFL talent for them to watch. The Raiders need a lot of help all over the roster.
If they want to set Mendoza up for success, they need to give more talent to throw to. His favorite target this season has been wide receiver Elijah Sarratt. He has 62 catches for 802 yards and 15 touchdowns this season. Max Chadwick of Pro Football Focus put together draft predictions for every team, and he projects the Raiders to select Sarratt with their second-round pick.
“You can almost write it in ink that the Raiders will select Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 overall pick,” Chadwick wrote. “At No. 36 overall, Las Vegas would be wise to reunite the Heisman Trophy winner with his favorite wide receiver.
“Sarratt’s 15 receiving touchdowns this season are the most among all receivers in college football, while his 88.9 PFF receiving grade ranks sixth.”
Sarratt Could Be What Raiders Need
The Raiders’ wide receiver room struggled in 2025. Jakobi Meyers was the best pass catcher of the group, but he got traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Tre Tucker emerged as a solid target, but he’s clearly not a No. 1 option. Rookies Jack Bech and Dont’e Thornton weren’t able to get on the field consistently.
The good news is that the Raiders do have some appealing young talent. However, they need somebody who might be ready to step in as a rookie and make an immediate impact. Taking Sarratt and reuniting him with Mendoza at the NFL level could be a wise move.
There would be less of a learning curve if Sarratt could catch passes from the same quarterback he’s been catching passes from. He’s also a touchdown machine, which is really what the Raiders need. Tucker was the only wide receiver on the team to have more than one touchdown reception in 2025.
Should Raiders Go OL in Second Round?
There will also be a lot of talk of the Raiders potentially going with an offensive lineman in the second round. The offensive line was a huge issue for the team this season.
That said, it seems like it would make more sense for the Raiders to address that need in free agency. Pro Bowl Baltimore Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum is a free agent, and he should be someone the team calls early.
That would solidify the center spot. Even then, the Raiders could try to find an upgrade at right tackle in the second round. The team has so many needs right now. They could address a lot of different positions in the second round, but wide receiver and offensive line need to be high on the list.
Raiders Predicted to Reunite Fernando Mendoza With 15-TD WR