The Denver Broncos won the AFC West in the 2025 NFL Season with a stellar 14-3 record, winning 11 games in a row at one point. If it wasn't for a Bo Nix broken ankle in the AFC Divisional Round against the Buffalo Bills, the Broncos may have won it all.
The Broncos have also swept the Las Vegas Raiders in each of the past two seasons, so in a way, the Broncos are getting 'free' wins by beating the dysfunctional franchise. However, the Raiders may have taken a giant step forward on day one of the 2026 NFL Draft, having taken Fernando Mendoza first overall.
And in doing this, the Raiders just sent the Broncos a very ominous message.
The Denver Broncos have to watch out for the Las Vegas Raiders
The Broncos did a similar thing two drafts ago by taking Bo Nix with the 12th overall pick. That year's draft was a lot different, though, as the Broncos took Nix and made him the sixth and final quarterback taken in Round 1.
And that was only through the first 12 picks. With the Raiders, they've surely known for months now that Mendoza was going to be their guy, and despite it being a weaker quarterback class, Mendoza is a very good prospect.
He also probably would have been a better prospect than Nix had the two been in the same class - the former Indiana quarterback profiles as a pure pocket passer with functional mobility but top-notch processing.
The quarterbacks who fit into this mold in today's NFL are guys like Joe Burrow and Jared Goff - Mendoza could be that type of passer. Over the past two seasons, the Broncos have really begun to separate itself from the rest of the AFC West by not only hitting on Nix, but seeing many of their other draft picks blossom.
This offseason, the Raiders have not only invested big-time in fixing the defense in free agency, but the offense suddenly has structure and a long-term outlook. The team signing Kirk Cousins gives Mendoza a soft cushion to get comfortable in the NFL, and the Raiders also have Brock Bowers and Ashton Jeanty to help Mendoza get acclimated to the league when he eventually starts.
Folks, the Raiders of old might truly be gone.
Sure, with it being likely that Cousins starts for some time in 2026, Mendoza could give them, for the first time in a long while, a legitimate solution at the most important position in sports. The Broncos have to ensure the gap does not close between the two teams, as we have just now seen Denver take that major leap forward into contention.
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