Fernando Mendoza Welcome To Las Vegas
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Sold My Soul
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Dante Moore or Fernando Mendoza
Call your shot....or add your own.
Dante Moore:
https://www.nfldraftbuzz.com/Player/Dante-Moore-QB-UCLA
Fernando Mendoza:
https://www.nfldraftbuzz.com/Player/Fer ... California
May the football godz look kindly down upon the feeble and inept.
Dante Moore:
https://www.nfldraftbuzz.com/Player/Dante-Moore-QB-UCLA
Fernando Mendoza:
https://www.nfldraftbuzz.com/Player/Fer ... California
May the football godz look kindly down upon the feeble and inept.
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KillerRaider30
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KillerRaider30
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mstrbass2000
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love the kid...
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KillerRaider30
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KillerRaider30
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RaiderandBulldog
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KillerRaider30
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Its nice to think they're bring back the 7 step drop. Since Carr its been nothing but 1.5 second dump offs.
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Sold My Soul
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Anonymous NFL Draft intel: Fernando Mendoza better prospect than Cam Ward, Drake Maye?
The strongest take The Athletic has gotten is this, from an NFL scout: “After (Fernando) Mendoza, it drops off a cliff.” It was an opinion echoed by an NFL personnel director this week.
That scouting executive, though, is very high on the Indiana Heisman Trophy winner, saying that he believes Mendoza merits being a first-pick-of-the-draft guy.
“The stuff that people in prior years look back and say (about QBs they missed on): ‘I’m pissed that I didn’t notice that he had that.’ Fernando has that,” said the exec. “It’s his efficiency in the red zone; you can tell that the plays that he makes, he has practiced them. Over his whole career, he has gotten better. He has those intangibles that people say are the reasons that people screw up in the draft.
“I think he has the answers to the test. I loved Cam Ward, but Fernando’s a better prospect than him. There are some physical traits in terms of arm strength and ability to run, where Drake Maye may have a little more, but I feel much better about Fernando than I did about Drake — and I like Drake.
“Fernando shows that he knows how to handle adversity. You see it all over the tape: Bouncing back from getting hit against Miami in the title game. Throwing picks, coming back against Oregon and Penn State.”
“The toughness really stands out,” said another NFL scout. “The dude sits in there and takes some really good shots. He’s got good, not excellent, arm talent. I think he has a chance to be a solid starter. He’s a clean prospect. There are some just questions on the high-end stuff.”
Mendoza’s evolution from overlooked “two-star” recruit to Heisman Trophy winner who led Indiana to a 16-0 season and the national championship behind a 41-to-6 TD-to-INT ratio is one of the more remarkable paths to the draft. Still, the chatter about his worth has been fascinating over the past two months. But none of the NFL folks I spoke to believed there was another quarterback in this class who was as good as Mendoza.
One big transition for Mendoza, an NFL QB coach noted, was that he only threw from under center about three times in his career.
“That’s obviously gonna be a huge difference for him,” said the coach. “A lot of their stuff was pre-snap and box count. RPOs and back-shoulders. Indiana did have a little more of a developed downfield passing game with some of its three-level reads and seven-step progressions than some spread teams in college do. But there’s not a ton of carryover.
“He does have arm talent. His footwork will be more of an adjustment, staying on time and getting the ball out. He drives the ball down the field well. He’s accurate downfield, and he’s fearless in the pocket. That’s why I think he’ll be successful. Even going back to his two years at Cal, where it’s a dirty pocket, he’s got guys in his face, he’s getting messed up at Cal, and still delivering throwing seam balls while he’s getting smoked. He’s comfortable with being pressured.”
There are many more questions about the rest of the QB class.
“There are some things about (Alabama’s) Ty Simpson I appreciate, but the lack of experience and real starter traits is a concern,” said the personnel director. “He needed to stay in college.”
An NFL offensive assistant said about LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier: “I see him being better than Spencer Rattler, that type of guy. He’s a good player. Obviously, the wheels fell off there at LSU. But I like his makeup. I think he’s wired the right way.”
And on Penn State’s Drew Allar, the personnel director noted: “He has a ton of real traits, but he’s just not a killer. I actually think he’s a really good processor, but I think it’s performance anxiety. It’s like in basketball: He’s the guy in the layup line, and you think, Oh, that guy’s gonna be good. But then you get into the game and he disappears.”
-THE ATHLETIC
The strongest take The Athletic has gotten is this, from an NFL scout: “After (Fernando) Mendoza, it drops off a cliff.” It was an opinion echoed by an NFL personnel director this week.
That scouting executive, though, is very high on the Indiana Heisman Trophy winner, saying that he believes Mendoza merits being a first-pick-of-the-draft guy.
“The stuff that people in prior years look back and say (about QBs they missed on): ‘I’m pissed that I didn’t notice that he had that.’ Fernando has that,” said the exec. “It’s his efficiency in the red zone; you can tell that the plays that he makes, he has practiced them. Over his whole career, he has gotten better. He has those intangibles that people say are the reasons that people screw up in the draft.
“I think he has the answers to the test. I loved Cam Ward, but Fernando’s a better prospect than him. There are some physical traits in terms of arm strength and ability to run, where Drake Maye may have a little more, but I feel much better about Fernando than I did about Drake — and I like Drake.
“Fernando shows that he knows how to handle adversity. You see it all over the tape: Bouncing back from getting hit against Miami in the title game. Throwing picks, coming back against Oregon and Penn State.”
“The toughness really stands out,” said another NFL scout. “The dude sits in there and takes some really good shots. He’s got good, not excellent, arm talent. I think he has a chance to be a solid starter. He’s a clean prospect. There are some just questions on the high-end stuff.”
Mendoza’s evolution from overlooked “two-star” recruit to Heisman Trophy winner who led Indiana to a 16-0 season and the national championship behind a 41-to-6 TD-to-INT ratio is one of the more remarkable paths to the draft. Still, the chatter about his worth has been fascinating over the past two months. But none of the NFL folks I spoke to believed there was another quarterback in this class who was as good as Mendoza.
One big transition for Mendoza, an NFL QB coach noted, was that he only threw from under center about three times in his career.
“That’s obviously gonna be a huge difference for him,” said the coach. “A lot of their stuff was pre-snap and box count. RPOs and back-shoulders. Indiana did have a little more of a developed downfield passing game with some of its three-level reads and seven-step progressions than some spread teams in college do. But there’s not a ton of carryover.
“He does have arm talent. His footwork will be more of an adjustment, staying on time and getting the ball out. He drives the ball down the field well. He’s accurate downfield, and he’s fearless in the pocket. That’s why I think he’ll be successful. Even going back to his two years at Cal, where it’s a dirty pocket, he’s got guys in his face, he’s getting messed up at Cal, and still delivering throwing seam balls while he’s getting smoked. He’s comfortable with being pressured.”
There are many more questions about the rest of the QB class.
“There are some things about (Alabama’s) Ty Simpson I appreciate, but the lack of experience and real starter traits is a concern,” said the personnel director. “He needed to stay in college.”
An NFL offensive assistant said about LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier: “I see him being better than Spencer Rattler, that type of guy. He’s a good player. Obviously, the wheels fell off there at LSU. But I like his makeup. I think he’s wired the right way.”
And on Penn State’s Drew Allar, the personnel director noted: “He has a ton of real traits, but he’s just not a killer. I actually think he’s a really good processor, but I think it’s performance anxiety. It’s like in basketball: He’s the guy in the layup line, and you think, Oh, that guy’s gonna be good. But then you get into the game and he disappears.”
-THE ATHLETIC
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Reno Hightower
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Three days until it's official. It's going to be a historic moment for the Silver and Black.
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raidersince63
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JRaider17
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I'd probably wonder this too if I didn't see a clip of him in high school doing an interview and being exactly the same type of person.
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KillerRaider30
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GoodTimeCharlie
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How f[raiders_icon]cking relieved I was when he threw it like a football player rather than whipping that shit like a pitcher. We need to insure that arm for a cool billion.
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BotesBoats
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I don't know if I've ever seen previous projected #1s do so much publicity things before. Was I just not paying attention or is Mendoza simply making a national tour right now?
He seemed the guy who would be at home training but I've seen infinitely more public events/interviews/shows he's been on than training events or home videos.
Genuine question, not ragging the guy, but how can he be training hard if he's traveling the nation making appearances? Seems counter of what he's talked about these last 3 months
He seemed the guy who would be at home training but I've seen infinitely more public events/interviews/shows he's been on than training events or home videos.
Genuine question, not ragging the guy, but how can he be training hard if he's traveling the nation making appearances? Seems counter of what he's talked about these last 3 months
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Rabidraider
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He's been training since the season ended. Bulked up to 236. Scouts said he looked great at his pro day. He's just enjoying the moment. Plus he still has plenty of time to work out and study.BotesBoats wrote: Wed Apr 22, 2026 6:07 am I don't know if I've ever seen previous projected #1s do so much publicity things before. Was I just not paying attention or is Mendoza simply making a national tour right now?
He seemed the guy who would be at home training but I've seen infinitely more public events/interviews/shows he's been on than training events or home videos.
Genuine question, not ragging the guy, but how can he be training hard if he's traveling the nation making appearances? Seems counter of what he's talked about these last 3 months
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