Fernando Mendoza is already setting the tone for the Las Vegas Raiders—now the question is whether the rest of the locker room can keep up.
Forget the highlight reel and forget the Heisman. Heck, forget the 16-0 season and the championship confetti. Mendoza showed up to his first Raiders rookie minicamp and immediately started talking about Kirk Cousins’ footwork.
That should tell you everything….
At his introductory press conference, Mendoza was asked how familiar he was with Klint Kubiak’s offensive system before being drafted. His answer was not what you typically hear from a 21-year-old coming off the greatest college football season in modern history.
“He won a Super Bowl last year, so I saw a lot of him,” Mendoza said. “Seeing Kirk Cousins do it back in Minnesota, seeing Sam Darnold do it last year in Seattle, seeing the application and how it’s supposed to be executed, what it’s done at a high level, is really beneficial for my development.”
He was not done. Mendoza talked about staying in the hotel the night before practice, getting 25 to 50 snaps with the centers just to sharpen his under-center timing. He credited Brian Griese for laying the foundation during the pre-draft process. He praised the offensive linemen for their consistency.
“I still have a long way to go,” he said.
That line, from the No. 1 overall pick just days after being celebrated as the best prospect in the country, hits differently than the usual rookie press conference noise. Most guys in his position are still riding the wave. Mendoza was already watching film on footwork.
Do the Raiders finally have their franchise QB?
The Raiders have spent years looking for a quarterback who treats the position like a craft. Derek Carr became a casualty of dysfunction. Jimmy Garoppolo was a stopgap. Aidan O’Connell was a hope and a prayer. Not one of them walked in the door feeling genuinely hungry to prove something from day one.
Mendoza does.
Kubiak is building something real in Las Vegas. The question has always been whether the right player would show up to run it. Two days into rookie camp, the kid is studying how Sam Darnold’s eyes moved through progressions and asking himself if he can do it better.
Based on everything Mendoza said at that press conference, the Raiders might finally have their answer.
*Top Photo: Ramble Illustration/Getty Images