Las Vegas Raiders QB Fernando Mendoza is in Day 2 of rookie minicamp as he looks to hit the ground running ahead of the 2026 NFL season. Nonetheless, the first major hurdle will be memorizing head coach Klint Kubiak’s playbook.
On May 2, Mendoza spoke with Las Vegas media and shared an update on his progress in understanding the playbook as he looks to be ready when OTAs get underway.
“[Kubiak] won a Super Bowl last year, so I saw a lot of him,” Mendoza told reporters. “I love watching NFL football on Sundays, so I watched a lot of Coach Kubiak. Then, when I was drafted and got here, I was able to get the playbook.
“However, going now to be in the facility and having access to the film and seeing the application, 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 and how it’s done at a high level is really beneficial for my development.
“That’s something from coming in Day 1, just seeing it on paper and taking it in, and then Day 2, last night with the coaches, really studying, ‘OK, this is how Kirk Cousins and Sam Darnold did it. This is how their footwork and eyes looked.'”
Fernando Mendoza on Adjusting to Playing Under Center
Moreover, Mendoza highlighted the adjustment of going from playing out of the shotgun to being under center more often than he was in college.
“I believe it’s the added footwork,” Mendoza added. “Instead of being back there in shotgun, you have to get back and make sure you get depth so you can best serve your offensive linemen, still be on time, and still decipher the defense.
“With that, it’s really having an emphasis on those first two steps, securing the snap, getting out of there and being powerful while having quick feet. That’s something that Coach [Mike] Sullivan, Coach [Andrew] Janocko and Coach Kubiak have talked to me about.”
Maxx Crosby on Raiders Drafting Fernando Mendoza
Las Vegas hopes that Mendoza can take command of the team before the prime years of Maxx Crosby are over. Still, the Raiders pass rusher is excited for what the future holds now that the Silver and Black have someone to lead them for the foreseeable future.
“We got Fernando,” Crosby said on the April 28 edition of “The Rush.” “I think it was one of the worst-kept secrets in sports [and] I don’t think it was a surprise, but I know everybody’s fired up that he’s part of our team now; I had the chance to have a great conversation with him when he came on his visit. I got to chop it up with him a little bit, and then on draft night, got on FaceTime and talked to him.
“We’ve been texting back and forth ever since. I’m really fired up for him, excited to take him under my wing and help him out, show him the way and just encourage him to be himself and lead in his own way. So, fired up for him and his family. I know it was a big moment.”
Fernando Mendoza Gives Big Update on Learning Raiders Offense