Las Vegas Raiders minority owner Tom Brady, along with majority owner Mark Davis and general manager John Spytek, were in attendance to watch Indiana Hoosiers QB Fernando Mendoza win the national title over the Miami Hurricanes.
With the 2025 college football season over, the Raiders will need to wrap up their head coach search to begin their draft process to determine whether or not Mendoza is the guy they want to take No. 1 overall in April.
Nonetheless, for ESPN college football analyst Jordan Rodgers, the Indiana star is the right guy for the Raiders to select. Moreover, he believes that Mendoza reminded Brady of himself during that game against Miami.
“I think Tom Brady looks at Fernando Mendoza and sees a lot of himself, somebody that excels at being accurate and decision-making,” Rodgers said on the Jan. 20 edition of “Get Up.” “… Throwing accurate footballs only [gets] harder [in the NFL]. They’re only better at the next level in making faster decisions. It’s harder at the next level. You don’t suddenly become a better decision-maker. That’s why Mendoza has such a high floor.”
Despite being accurate, Rodgers cautions the Raiders to start building pieces around Mendoza this offseason.
“The pieces around him are going to be important because he can’t run a 4.5 and run around you,“ Rodgers added. “He can’t throw it 80 yards downfield and bail you out off his backfoot like Caleb Williams can at times. You build a team around him? You can be really successful with that type of quarterback.”
Fernando Mendoza Can Help Turn the Raiders Around
While the Raiders mull that decision following his national title performance, former NFL player Emmanuel Acho didn’t hold back on his hopes that Mendoza can turn the Silver and Black around.
“If anybody can do [turn the Raiders around], Mendoza can do it,“ Acho said on the Jan. 19 edition of “Speakeasy.” “And here’s why. It’s not because he has some unfathomable skill set. It’s that he’s a very unflappable quarterback. He’s going to go in there like a veteran. Mendoza is not going to be the guy that you got to worry about as a quarterback off the field. You can check the box of, it’s not going to be any off-the-field thing that distracts Mendoza from being great.
“Then, you think about what did he do at Indiana? He’s already had one of the most historic turnarounds we’ve ever seen at the collegiate level, which is the feeder system into the pros. If Mendoza can have a historic turnaround at the collegiate level, he has the DNA to do it at the NFL level. Turning Indiana around is a greater feat than turning the Raiders around. Turning the Raiders around is a gigantic feat.”
Raiders Have Talent to Build Around Fernando Mendoza
Moreover, Acho noted that Mendoza won at Indiana despite not having much elite talent. In Las Vegas, the Hoosiers’ star would have at least Brock Bowers and Ashton Jeanty as foundation pieces on offense. As a result, Mendoza might be able to develop particular talent as he did at Indiana.
“Mendoza did this without a bunch of elite guys, “ Acho added. “I don’t know that his wide‑receiving corps is a bunch of first‑round picks. I know that his running back room is not a bunch of first‑round picks. Mendoza also did this at Indiana without a bunch of elite talent.
“His offensive line was getting rocked [against the Hurricanes]. They got absolutely butt‑whomped, and he still went out there and got the dub. So if anybody can do it, I believe Mendoza can.”
Fernando Mendoza Gets Tom Brady Message Amid Raiders Link