Two things will happen if \u2014 but probably when \u2014 the Las Vegas Raiders draft Fernando Mendoza. It feels like a sure thing that we\u2019ll see the Indiana quarterback step onto the stage at the 2026 NFL Draft to accept a Raiders jersey as the No. 1 overall pick. Danny Hernandez, Mendoza\u2019s private quarterback coach, is sure of what will happen next. The first inevitability is that Mendoza will reach out to Tom Brady, the Raiders\u2019 part owner. “If I know Fernando the way I know Fernando, Tom Brady is probably going to have a separate phone for Fernando alone, because he is going to wear that relationship out,” Hernandez told me this week. “He is going to try to get as much information that he possibly can from Tom Brady, you know? And if Tom is going to be as hands-on as I’m hoping he is, that’s going to be a great relationship.” It\u2019s one comparison that everyone is afraid to make, because Brady is Brady, the greatest ever. But there are traits from Mendoza\u2019s game that will remind folks of Brady. Mendoza is a pocket passer. Mendoza isn’t a world-beating athlete. And he\u2019s a tough player who scouts had overlooked \u2014 until this year, when Mendoza forced them to pay attention by winning the national championship and the Heisman Trophy. Brady and Mendoza were in touch last season. You can bet they\u2019ll be in touch quite often if Mendoza ends up in Las Vegas. “That’s going to be some really, really good mentorship,” Hernandez said of Brady and Mendoza. “Since he was a kid, [Mendoza was] a fan [of Brady] \u2014 just trying to do everything at the highest possible level. I mean, what better person could you learn from than Tom Brady? So, yeah, he’s gonna wear that relationship out. That’s for sure.” The second inevitability is that new Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak will have an onslaught of questions to answer. Mendoza is widely considered a pro-ready prospect because he ran a pro-style offense at Indiana. But of course, there hasn\u2019t been a prospect in the history of the NFL who was ready on draft day. So Mendoza will get to work on his new playbook. “He’s going to take a look at the tiniest little thing,” Hernandez told me by phone. “He’s going to be able to recognize from a footwork standpoint, \u2018Hey, I noticed that when you guys run this particular play, your quarterback had his foot staggered just a little bit more this way than that way. Is there a reason?\u2019 He’s going to want to know why. He’s going to practice it that exact way. That’s just the way he’s wired. So I think he’s going to be perfect for this.” Hernandez knows what Mendoza is going to do, because they\u2019ve worked together since the QB was a junior at Christopher Columbus High School in Miami. And Mendoza has asked Hernandez those types of questions \u2014 all the time \u2014 from Columbus to Cal to Indiana to now. “If you’re around other people that truly have a joyful obsession over this position and all the little things that need to happen to really make you great, those super late-night phone calls or super early phone calls feel like a regular thing,” Hernandez told me. It all adds up to somebody who will fit right in with the Raiders. It sounds like exactly the guy that GM John Spytek is looking for. In Indianapolis on Tuesday, Spytek fielded questions about what the team is seeking in a quarterback. And the GM essentially listed Mendoza\u2019s qualities. “A leader. Tough as hell. Somebody that loves to play football. Maniacal preparer. Obviously, someone that can throw the ball well. I think just somebody that loves the game and will give everything for their teammates,” Spytek told reporters at the Indianapolis Convention Center. “There\u2019s a great humility and selflessness required to play that position at the highest level.” This isn\u2019t to say that Mendoza won\u2019t have obstacles to overcome. He isn\u2019t the elite athlete that Josh Allen is. He doesn\u2019t have the super powerful Avengers arm like Patrick Mahomes. He isn’t the raw, high-upside prospect we’re accustomed to seeing go at No. 1. And even though Indiana ran a pro-style system, Mendoza didn\u2019t take that many snaps under center \u2014 which Spytek indirectly joked about. The GM fielded a question about the hardest part of evaluating college quarterbacks. “If they can take a snap from under center right now,” he said with a smile. There are many, many, many things that are complicated about the NFL Draft. This year, there\u2019s one thing that\u2019s really not all that tricky. It\u2019s matching Mendoza and the Raiders at No. 1. As Hernandez said, it’s perfect.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Two things will happen if \u2014 but probably when \u2014 the Las Vegas Raiders draft Fernando Mendoza. It feels like a sure thing that we\u2019ll see the Indiana quarterback step onto the stage at the 2026 NFL Draft to accept a Raiders jersey as the No. 1 overall pick. Danny Hernandez, Mendoza\u2019s private quarterback coach,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32262"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32262"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32262\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}