BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The coronation is nearly complete.
Quarterback Fernando Mendoza dazzled the Las Vegas Raiders’ contingent of decision-makers Wednesday during Indiana’s pro day inside the John Mellencamp Pavilion, as the Heisman Trophy winner continued to pad his lead in the race to be the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft. General manager John Spytek and coach Klint Kubiak headlined a group of about 10 members of the Raiders organization who attended the workout and met with Mendoza afterward.
Mendoza completed 53 of his 56 passes, including two drops, and he blew away the scouting evaluators in attendance.
“I feel like it went great,” Mendoza said. “I just wanted to make sure everybody can showcase their abilities in front of all 32 NFL teams and really run routes that are applicable to the time that we’re going to be running in the NFL. I think it went great. I think everyone showcased amazing. It was great to be in Bloomington one more time with our guys after such a fantastic finish.”
Mendoza, who led Indiana to the first 16-0 season in modern college football history, has been the presumed No. 1 pick since the Raiders secured the selection in January. Team executives have generally viewed him as the best quarterback in the class since November or December, and the 22-year-old cemented his status with a brilliant showing in the College Football Playoff.
Oregon’s Dante Moore and Texas’ Arch Manning could have caused team evaluators to re-evaluate their QB1 opinions if they declared for the draft, but both returned to school. Alabama’s Ty Simpson is widely considered the No. 2 quarterback in the class, but he was never viewed as a threat to Mendoza.
Meanwhile, the Raiders have been all over Mendoza, even bringing a videographer to the pro day. They had an extended meeting with him at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, and they’ve also connected once over a video call. Mendoza met with Spytek, Kubiak and other staffers after the workout to talk even more X’s and O’s — this wasn’t a networking dinner at a five-star restaurant; it was a football discussion. And later this month, Mendoza is expected to visit the Raiders facility on an official pre-draft visit.
To put it another way: If Mendoza has bought any Raiders gear for his family, he shouldn’t worry about saving the receipts.
“I wouldn’t say I have the mentality of trying to be the top pick,” Mendoza said, with his typical humility. “I’m just trying to be the best me possible. In that aspect, whatever team picks me, you only need one team to believe in you, whether you’re the first pick, whether you’re the last pick or whatever. I’m just trying to be the best quarterback I can be in September rather than right now here in April.”
For what it’s worth, Mendoza put on quite the April show. He warmed up for 45 minutes with former Indiana quarterbacks coach Chandler Whitmer, who is now in the same role with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, along with other Hoosiers staffers. Mendoza started his session at 2:05 p.m. with nine warmup tosses to jogging receivers before ratcheting up the intensity several notches. He opened with 16 quick completions before bellowing out, “Good job, boys,” to his receivers. As on all pro days, Mendoza was throwing one-man routes without any defenders on the field.
Less typical: Mendoza called out his own script. It’s become increasingly common for private QB coaches to lead these workouts, but it was Mendoza yelling each receiver’s name and their intended route before nearly every throw.
Mendoza showed his moxie with his 19th throw. Wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. ran a nifty return route, and Mendoza fired a strike to his left. But while the ball was still in the air, Mendoza yelled “thank you” to praise Cooper for his perfect route. A couple of scouts noted Mendoza’s chemistry with his teammates was evident.
Mendoza opened with 23 consecutive completions before the first drop. Two plays later, Cooper slipped on an out route, and Mendoza noticed, waited a beat for Cooper to recover and then hit him in stride. It might be a little thing, but Mendoza could have thrown the ball on time and blamed the receiver for the incompletion. Rather, he showed enough poise to slow down and make the play work.
“There were a little bit of nerves right before (the workout),” Mendoza said. “But those nerves mean I’m ready. Those nerves turned into energy toward the workout to be a better quarterback.”
Mendoza’s only true miss was on his 32nd throw, as it was just a few inches too far for his receiver on a deep ball. He was short on a couple of deep completions and was a little late on an over route to Cooper, but the rest was crisp, accurate and efficient. Mendoza also threw a couple of perfect deep balls, including a beauty of a post route to E.J. Williams Jr.
Mendoza closed the workout with 21 consecutive completions, capped at 2:24 p.m. with a deep lob to Cooper, who mirrored Ryan Williams’ look from the Alabama pro day with a Grinch cleat on his right foot and a Reverse Grinch on his left.
Mendoza threw 65 passes, including the nine warmup balls, in a tidy 19 minutes. He called for a quick water break after his 37th throw because everyone was noticeably winded, and they had one more breather after the 51st throw.
It was the most purposeful and impressive pro day by any of the top QBs in the last two draft classes.
That tracks with Mendoza’s evaluation. Executives polled by The Athletic have generally agreed Mendoza isn’t considered to be on the same tier as the top of the 2024 QB class (Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye). Of course, so much depends on the Raiders’ ability to support Mendoza.
Teams love Mendoza’s accuracy, toughness, decision-making, movement within the pocket and his commitment to football. He is totally immersed in the game, which has helped his rise as a high-level prospect. Mendoza can play with intentionality, knows where to go with the ball and when to take shots, and he has run with effectiveness at times.
And unless there’s a massive change of heart in the next three weeks, Mendoza’s next show will be in Vegas.