The last time the Raiders had the No. 1 pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, things were looking up for the franchise. The team had hired a young head coach named Lane Kiffin and used the top pick to select former LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell.
Unfortunately, any excitement quickly went away. Kiffin didn’t make it through his second season before getting fired, and Russell went down as the biggest draft bust in NFL history.
Ironically, Kiffin is now the head coach at LSU, where Russell used to be a superstar. For the first time in nearly two decades, Russell and Kiffin were able to reunite for a photo-op.
The two didn’t really get much of a chance to figure out the NFL together, but both have moved on to very different things. The timing of their reunion is interesting, considering the Raiders are about to have the No. 1 pick in the draft for the first time since 2007.
Raiders Likely to Use No. 1 Pick on Very Different QB This Time Around
When the Raiders drafted Russell, they were gambling on one of the most impressive quarterbacks ever from a physical perspective. He’s 6-foot-6, thick and was a strong athlete when he was younger. He also had one of the biggest arms in the history of football.
The problem with him is that he didn’t take the studying side of football seriously. Likely No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza has very strong studying habits, but he’s not as physically gifted as Russell. Considering the previous experience with Russell, the Raiders are likely happy that Mendoza is very different from a personality and work ethic standpoint.
Matt Hasselbeck Thinks Raiders Are Lucky to Get Mendoza
Mendoza may not be able to throw the ball the length of the football field or run a fast 40-yard dash, but he does everything else a quarterback needs to do at a high level.
Former NFL quarterback Matt Hasselbeck is very high on Mendoza and thinks the Raiders are lucky to have the chance to draft him.
“I know all the guys better as people than I do as players,” Hasselbeck told Tyler Dunne of Go Long. “But Fernando Mendoza, for me, checks all the boxes. I know there’s a little bit of hot-take shade that’s being thrown at him recently on the television. But I chalk that up to guys are running out of things to say and they want to have a hot take. I don’t think any of that’s real. I would hope it’s not real. Fernando Mendoza is amazing. He’s amazing. He’s so boring to talk about because yeah, he’s going to be the first pick. It’s not even up for debate.
“There’s really no one else they would consider taking first overall. It’s a done deal. So I think it’s almost boring for TV and talk radio. People are just coming with their hottest take and then it goes nuts on social media and then people are talking for hours about the take that I don’t even think people really believe. I think they’re full of garbage just trying to have a hot take. So no, Mendoza’s the first overall pick and he’s great. I didn’t know him until the Combine or maybe I met him at the Super Bowl. But really got to know him at the Combine. The Raiders are going to be really lucky to have him.”
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