On Saturday, Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay turned 40.
The youngest head coach hire in NFL history, when the Rams chose him a decade ago, has transformed into one of the league’s best coaches, now with the second-longest tenure.
As he enters a pivotal NFC Championship this weekend on the road in Seattle, McVay is on the verge of beginning the next stage of his career with Los Angeles.
And what better way to do that than to do one of the only things he hasn’t done as Rams head coach?
Draft a first-round quarterback and lead them to the Super Bowl.
Not just any first-round QB — the first-round QB of the 2026 NFL Draft — Heisman winner, LinkedIn poet, national champion Indiana Hoosier Fernando Mendoza.
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While McVay did help mentor and grow alongside current Detroit Lions signal-caller Jared Goff, the 40-year-old head coach did not draft Goff. He took over for Jeff Fisher in Goff’s second year, and the two had a strong partnership before it deteriorated and eventually ended in him being traded for Matthew Stafford.
Stafford is the likely MVP of the season and could win his second ring with McVay this season, but regardless, the Rams need to look ahead.
Puka Nacua is arguably the NFL’s best wide receiver and is only 24. Jared Verse, Byron Young, Kobie Turner, Kyren Williams, and other staples of the team are all entering their prime at the same time. If McVay and general manager Les Snead can find their QB of the future, replacing a retiring Stafford or having them learn from the 17-year vet, it would set the team up for another decade of contention.
The Las Vegas Raiders are projected to pick Mendoza with the first overall selection and seem excited to do so, but they’re also a team that is in desperate need of filling holes across the roster. Following their trade with the Atlanta Falcons in the last NFL Draft, the Rams have two first-round picks at their disposal heading into it and all of their premium draft capital in future seasons.
If the Rams offer up both of their 2026 first-rounders, a first-round pick in 2027, and possibly a few more later-round selections, could it be enough to get the Raiders to bite?
Mendoza, who sees quarterback play like doing puzzles, could be the perfect successor to Stafford in Los Angeles. Although not with the same ceiling as some other No. 1 overall quarterbacks, McVay knows how to get the best out of QBs who know how to command the pocket.
In a perfect world, McVay and Mendoza could one day outdo the partnership with the grizzled gunslinger Stafford and the birthday boy.
Is there anything that could be offered, though, to dissuade a Raiders team needing a hero from seeing Mendoza as that man in the cape come April’s draft?
The Rams should find out.
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