Mike Florio

Is there any way he's not going to be the first pick?

We've been shocked in the past.

Not very often, though.

I remember in 2001 when everyone thought the Chargers would take Michael Vick.

And back then, it was before the rookie wage scale, and there were real terms to negotiate, and teams would often try to get the guy signed before they even picked him.

The negotiations between Vick and the Chargers fell apart 48 hours before the draft.

Next thing you know, he's an Atlanta Falcon.

So I can't imagine...

that anything like that's gonna happen.

I can't envision Mendoza not being picked by the Raiders, but to me, it's like, let's not be 100% sure it's gonna happen because if we're 100% sure, that's opening the door for the kind of surprise that would turn everything upside down.

I still can't imagine it happening, but man, it just, sometimes when something seems so damn clear, that's when we get a curve ball that ends up shocking everyone.

I think it was very interesting he showed up yesterday for the start of the Raiders offseason program because that was the day Fernando Mendoza was making his visit.

And he's visiting one team this cycle.

He's visiting the Raiders.

But everybody's got to be comfortable with this.

Everybody's got to be ready to go forward.

Now, it doesn't matter if Mendoza's not comfortable because...

He's got no say in the matter, and we rarely see a quarterback or anyone at the top of the draft make a power play.

It happened in 83 with John Elway.

It happened in 2004 with Eli Manning.