Raiders Evaluating QB Situation as Draft Approaches

LAS VEGAS — It’s still unclear if Fernando Mendoza will take the field as the Raiders’ starting quarterback when the season opens.

Regardless of what decision the Raiders make with the top overall pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, it’s expected that the choice will hinge more on talent than on personal beliefs.

In other words, the Raiders won’t overlook the Indiana Heisman Trophy winner simply because of his viewpoints.

General manager John Spytek addressed the media on Tuesday, making it clear that every decision will come down to merit. “At the end of the day, this is a meritocracy,” he stated. “And the best man will play.”

If everything goes according to plan, that man could very well be Mendoza. The Raiders have long dreamed of finding a transformative quarterback, and they intend to bring him into their facilities as soon as the draft concludes. They’ll focus on his development during the offseason and training camp to see if he’s ready for the opening game.

This is the ideal scenario, of course. However, if things don’t play out perfectly, the team has veteran Kirk Cousins ready to step in while Mendoza develops.

In the past, comments from Spytek and Tom Brady—who holds a minority stake in the team and has a significant say in football operations—suggested that bringing Cousins on board might delay Mendoza’s transition to the starting role.

This reluctance seems more about development than Mendoza’s actual skills.

“It’s a tough position to play. There’s a lot more to learn than just throwing the football and being a good teammate,” Spytek noted.

Nonetheless, Mendoza will have every opportunity to prove himself from the get-go. Ultimately, his success will depend on his own efforts, not the organization’s inclinations.

This opens the door for Mendoza to follow in the footsteps of recent quarterbacks like CJ Stroud and Jaden Daniels, who also faced similar transitions and managed to secure starting positions right after being drafted.

“It’s really hard to play really well at a young age,” Spytek commented, “But we’ve seen a lot of quarterbacks do that recently. Obviously, we have Kirk. We’ll see what happens. But the best guy is [will] play.”

Mendoza is likely to encounter a shift similar to what Stroud and Daniels dealt with as they adjusted from college football’s simpler schemes to the NFL’s complex systems.

“Many of them have lived their entire lives behind shotguns. They don’t flock together,” Spytek remarked. “You have to really teach some of these guys how to run the huddle, how to break the huddle, how to get under center and establish a rhythm. So it’s more than just learning the playbook, which is challenging enough.”

This leads NFL teams to grapple with whether the young quarterback can be coached and if he can adapt quickly. A lot of this can be assessed during the draft evaluation phase. The Raiders, for example, spent considerable time with Mendoza at the NFL Scouting Combine, during his pro day in Indiana, and on a recent private visit in Las Vegas.

On top of that, they’ve meticulously analyzed game footage and conducted qualitative background checks. While it doesn’t entirely eliminate the risks, it certainly helps.

“Are they smart? Can they process a lot of information quickly? Can they make good football decisions? Are they tough? Are they good teammates?” Spytek asked. “And obviously, can they throw the ball at the level required to play quarterback in the NFL? Are they athletic? Can they improvise or do they have to play in the pocket all the time?”

The interaction with Mendoza proved to be crucial.

“I think like with a lot of the players in this draft, when you get a chance to spend time with them, you start to learn a little bit about how they work, how they think, how they learn. And we rely a lot on our coaches, whether it’s meetings at the combine, meetings in the building, Zoom,” Spytek shared. “Usually coaches have a very good feel for it. Like, this player learns it very well and feels like he can grab it and hold on to it and remember it. Then we can build and build and build.”

Mendoza will have the chance to demonstrate his potential to the Raiders this summer.