The Las Vegas Raiders‘ decision on what to do with the No. 1 pick and whether they will do what everyone expects them to do, which is draft former Indiana Hoosiers QB, Fernando Mendoza.
Mendoza would be a potential franchise QB the team hasn’t had since Derek Carr’s departure. Moreover, while the Raiders have until April 23 to decide whether Mendoza is their guy, the team’s former general manager, Mike Mayock, is sold on the reigning Heisman Trophy winner.
In an April 12 video from SiriusXM NFL Radio, Mayock explained why he wouldn’t hesitate to draft Mendoza.
“[Mendoza has] got a good arm, can drive it back-shoulder at a high level, and is accurate at all three levels,” Mayock said. “This is the key to me: He’s at his best when his best is necessary. I call it a quarterback’s nervous system…
“The numbers aren’t overwhelming. They don’t throw it as much as some teams, but he was at his best in the fourth quarter of the national championship game.”
Ex-Raiders GM Issues QB Comparison for Fernando Mendoza
Moreover, Mayock shared his NFL quarterback comparison for Mendoza, and it’s someone who went to a Super Bowl during his career: Former Atlanta Falcons QB Matt Ryan.
“The more I watched, the more I liked him; I respected him, and he reminds me of a young Matt Ryan,” Mayock added. “And a young Matt Ryan, to me, is a baby-faced assassin with great intangibles, football IQ, and work ethic. What the Raiders want to do is the same thing he did in Indiana: take a lower-level building and go win a championship.
“My alert on him: Heavy RPO offense, takes a lot of hits, and he has a slight frame. He takes a lot of sacks. I have 82 sacks in 36 career games, and per pass attempt, that’s about 7.5 percent, which is a high number. He’s not elusive. He’s got to learn to get the ball out, both for his durability and for the good of the team. But outside of that, man, I’m all in.”
Fernando Mendoza Gets Another Compelling QB Comparison
Moreover, ESPN NFL Draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. recently gave an NFL quarterback comparison for Mendoza, which also included Ryan and another former signal-caller. If he is accurate, it would allow Las Vegas to have a guy who can help them challenge for Super Bowls in the future.
“I think what you look at with Fernando is a cross between Peyton Manning and Matt Ryan, ” Kiper said during an April 7 appearance on ESPN Radio. “I’m not a comp guy, because we always comp them to the great guys, but yeah, I see a little Peyton in him. I see a little Matt Ryan in him.
“And keep in mind, people think he’s a one-year wonder. He’s not. At Cal, he was a really good quarterback behind a bad offensive line. That’s why he was sacked 41 times. He knew he had to get the ball out quicker, and he improved on that number dramatically at Indiana when he got a little bit more help.”
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