After an incredible season at Indiana, Fernando Mendoza earned his place as the best quarterback in the 2026 NFL Draft class, which led to him being the No. 1 pick of the Las Vegas Raiders. He was considered close to NFL-ready coming out of Indiana, but the Raiders decided to bring in Kirk Cousins to mentor him and start the season.
The team was comfortable starting Cousins for the foreseeable future, but ended up trading him to the Minnesota Vikings. The Raiders wasted no time naming Mendoza the starting quarterback going forward.
His real NFL journey is about to begin, and there’s a lot of excitement about what he’s going to do. While his focus is on the Raiders right now, he made sure to give Indiana and head coach Curt Cignetti a shout-out in his first press conference as a starting NFL quarterback.
“Coach Cignetti always says fast, physical and relentless, so best of luck to the Hoosiers,” Mendoza told reporters. “I have confidence in the Hoosiers. Go Bloomington, go Hoosiers.”
Mendoza wasn’t considered a quarterback who could be in the mix for the top pick before Indiana, so he owes the program a lot. He clearly still has a lot of admiration for Indiana despite only being there for a year.
Mendoza Has Passed Every Test For Raiders
Mendoza was the first rookie No. 1 pick quarterback to not start in Week 1 since Baker Mayfield in 2018. It was a curious choice, as Mendoza isn’t considered a raw prospect who needed time to develop.
Having Cousins made it a bit easier for the Raiders to make that choice. However, it quickly became apparent that Mendoza was too good to keep off the field. Raiders general manager John Spytek has been blown away by the rookie quarterback.
“It’s something that he’s worked very hard for since the moment he walked into this building,” Spytek said. “He passed every test. I want to stop short of saying he’s earned it, but he put us in a position where we had to make a really hard decision today with his growth as a person, as a teammate, as a leader, as a quarterback.”
Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak was fine rolling with Cousins, but he thinks the veteran’s mentorship will really benefit Mendoza.
“I think with the right role model that will accelerate his growth and we had, you know, we had the right role model,” Kubiak said.
Kubiak Says Mendoza is Prepared
Mendoza isn’t getting an easy test for his first NFL start. He’s facing the Seattle Seahawks, which have the best pass defense in the league.
The Raiders likely would’ve held off on starting Mendoza for at least a few more weeks, but the opportunity to get a third-round pick was too good to pass up. Kubiak is a man of few words, but he believes that Mendoza is ready to go for his first start.
“He’s prepared,” Kubiak said. … “His daily preparation has been up to standard, and now he’s got to go prove it in the game.”
Fernando Mendoza Sends Message to Indiana After Earning Raiders Starting Job