It’s been over a month since the Las Vegas Raiders took Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 pick. Since then, Mendoza has had rookie minicamp and OTAs as mandatory minicamp begins on June 9.
Ahead of mandatory minicamp, the Silver and Black held their media day, and Mendoza spoke with Amber Theoharis and former Raiders players James Jones and Eric Allen.
With a few practices under his belt now, the former Indiana Hoosiers star spoke about his transition from college to the pros.
“Feel good,” Mendoza said in the June 8 livestream on YouTube. “Learning and growing every single day. Adjustment to the NFL, it’s definitely an adjustment. There’s been a lot of great moments, and there’s been a lot of growing pains. So I think being a part of that and to be able to practice with those guys, such a high-intensity practice, whether with the ones, the twos, or the threes.
“Everyone’s always going full throttle. Coach Kubiak has set a great culture. And being able to learn from those veteran guys has been essential to my development so far. However, I’ve been growing, I’ve been learning, really happy with the progress I’ve made.”
Last season with the Hoosiers, Mendoza played 724 total snaps, leading to an 87.9 overall PFF grade. Moreover, he threw for 2,758 yards, 32 touchdowns, and five interceptions. The reigning Heisman Trophy winner also had 16 big-time throws and 9 turnover-worthy plays.
Meanwhile, on the ground, Mendoza recorded 200 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns. As a result, he’s looking to transition this production to the Raiders whenever the coaching staff feels the rookie is ready to play.
Kirk Cousins Is a Vital Mentor for Fernando Mendoza
Nonetheless, in this transition from college to the professionals, Mendoza does have a mentor in Kirk Cousins. The young QB spoke about what it’s like to have a veteran in the signal-caller room to lean on, given that Cousins has been in head coach Klint Kubiak’s offense.
“[Cousins is] definitely helping me a lot,” Mendoza added. “He’s extremely cerebral, and he’s been in this offense before, so he’s already had a little bit of an upper hand in a sense where he’s been able to teach the other quarterbacks and has experienced the plays, not just in practice, not just in scrimmages, but in actual games.
“He sees how these plays have played out [and] he’s had experience with Coach Kubiak, which has been so interesting to see. And I’ve been able to learn firsthand and secondhand, whether it’s my own experiences, whether it’s asking Kirk questions, or just observing the room.”
Fernando Mendoza on Differences Between Raiders and College Offense
Finally, Mendoza spoke about the differences between being in Kubiak’s offense and what he had to run in college. While he said, at the end of the day, that football is football, the Raiders QB did point out the differences and what he needs to adjust to now that he’s in a pro offense.
“I think every offense is similar because football is football at the end of the day,” Mendoza said. “It can’t be that much different to have an effective offense. But the schematics of it are different.
“There are a lot more under-center variables that I’ve been learning and getting a lot of extra reps in, and I feel much more comfortable under center. But it’s a great offense. I really believe in Coach Kubiak’s offense.”
Raiders QB Fernando Mendoza Issues Major Update on NFL Transition