Fernando Mendoza: ‘Huge responsibility’ to be face of Raiders

HENDERSON, Nev. — Fernando Mendoza walked through the glass doors of the Las Vegas Raiders’ training facility with a large smile, overjoyed that his lifelong dream had turned into a reality.

But Mendoza had a great understanding of the burden that comes with being the first pick in the draft and the new franchise quarterback of the Silver & Black.

On Mendoza’s first day as a member of the Raiders, the South Florida native was greeted by franchise legends such as Jim Plunkett, Marcus Allen, Tim Brown and Fred Biletnikoff.

They served as a memento of the organization’s successful past. And on Friday, they looked at Mendoza, who wasn’t born when the Raiders last won a playoff game (2002 AFC Championship Game on Jan. 19, 2003), with the hope that he could help the organization restore its long-lost winning culture.

“It’s a huge responsibility but also a huge honor,” Mendoza said during his introductory news conference. “The Raiders are a historic franchise and one of the faces of the NFL, and I feel like, again, I need to prove it and earn it every single day.”

Raiders coach Klint Kubiak, general manager John Spytek and the rest of the franchise have all the confidence in the world that Mendoza is the right player to lead the franchise to sustained success.

Kubiak said Mendoza’s skill set can fit any offensive system in the league. Mendoza is a winner, having led Indiana to a 16-0 record and a national title in his lone season in Bloomington.

Everything that Kubiak had studied on Mendoza was then solidified during his pro day earlier this month.

“The way he ran that pro day, he bossed his teammates around, told them what route they were running and how accurately he threw the ball,” Kubiak said. “And then took him upstairs and talked football with him and just listened to him communicate the game and how quickly he picked things up.

“We already liked how he played the game on film, but seeing him in person was really helpful, and it allowed us to watch film on a lot of other guys. We knew we had the guy.”

Mendoza’s preparation is another reason Las Vegas believes it drafted the right player to lead the franchise. It’s also Mendoza’s superpower, one that could help him see the field sooner than later.

Mendoza said he reached out to former NFL quarterback Brian Griese to learn under-center concepts that he will be using in Kubiak’s offense. Griese played for the Denver Broncos when Kubiak’s father, Gary, was the offensive coordinator and he also spent three seasons as the quarterback coach for the San Francisco 49ers.

“I needed some guidance on how to become the best NFL quarterback, not just for a pro day or the combine, [but] for September, [or] whenever it is, in October, December, to be an NFL [starting] quarterback,” he said.

Mendoza’s welcome to Las Vegas didn’t just feature greetings from former players. After he heard his name called at the top of the draft Thursday night, Mendoza received text messages from Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby, left tackle Kolton Miller, center Tyler Linderbaum and quarterback Kirk Cousins.

“It’s been a whirlwind in the past couple of hours, but Kirk sent me a really nice text,” Mendoza said. “[I’m] looking forward to working with him, learning anything I can from him, and just a great not only teammates that I will learn from but also the great coaches.”