The Las Vegas Raiders hold all the cards in the upcoming NFL Draft, and there isn’t much suspense about what they are going to do. For months, all indications have been that the Raiders are going to take Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 overall pick.
Mendoza is at the top of a weak quarterback class, and some of that perception has rubbed off on him, with some people suggesting he is only the No. 1 pick by default because of the lack of other options. However, scouts and other high-ranking people around the league disagree.
In fact, one anonymous executive has Mendoza rated higher than Cam Ward and Drake Maye from recent drafts, as shared by Bruce Feldman of The Athletic.
“I think he has the answers to the test,” the executive said. “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.”
Ward showed promising flashes during his rookie season and Maye blossomed into an MVP candidate in his second season while leading the Patriots to the Super Bowl, so that is high praise for Mendoza coming into the league.
The one thing that has changed between Mendoza and the Raiders is his potential role to start his career. The Raiders went out and signed Kirk Cousins in free agency, so the veteran signal-caller will likely compete for the starting job with Mendoza in training camp. While it still is very likely that Mendoza ends up as the starter at some point during his rookie season, it’s unclear whether that will be in Week 1 or not.
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