Albert Breer’s Five Biggest Raiders Training Camp Takeaways: Top Pick Fernando Mendoza Has Looked the Part

The 22-year-old quarterback has shown the work ethic of a dedicated player and the traits of a future star.

Quarterback Fernando Mendoza was the first overall pick in this year's draft after winning the CFP national championship. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

LAS VEGAS—It was 96 degrees by the time practice got rolling here, just after 7:30 a.m. PT. I survived, and now have five observations from Raiders camp …

• It’s fair to say that the Raiders’ scouting on first pick overall Fernando Mendoza has checked out—he’s living in the building as a tireless, football-obsessed worker. For now, he’s working chiefly with the second team, but he has a shot to earn first-team reps over the next couple weeks. And the on-field trait he has flashed early—which he brought with him from college—is one I heard referred to as “proprioceptive feel” (yes, I had to look up the spelling).

What’s that mean? It’s when Mendoza has all five eligibles out, he can feel where the rush is at and where his outlets are, which is just one of the unteachable traits he has. Another would be his ability to bounce back from bad plays, which he flashed in Sunday’s practice in ripping one down the seam one snap after throwing a pick six.

Now, he’s still a rookie and he’s learning, and Kirk Cousins is still clearly the best guy at running Klint Kubiak’s offense. Mendoza still has work to do in that department, along with learning to play from under center and with his back to the ball.

But early signs here are good. Whether he’ll play at some point this year remains an open question and, in my mind, gets determined by two elements: his readiness to play, of course, and the team’s readiness to support him.

• One thing that should help is having three bedrocks at their best, and the Raiders are getting that from tight end Brock Bowers, running back Ashton Jeanty and tackle Kolton Miller. Both Bowers and Miller have looked really good coming back from injury. And Jeanty has thinned out, down to 207 pounds after changing his diet, and is showing explosion and violence running without pads on—and if that carries over like it should, then Kubiak will have a pretty valuable centerpiece for the run game that serves as the foundation for his scheme.

You can also throw center Tyler Linderbaum into the group as another member of the offensive core. His range and athleticism make him a good fit for Kubiak, as does his intelligence to make calls, something that will, down the line when Mendoza is playing, help ease the rookie’s transition. Also, while he’s not overly vocal, Linderbaum has quickly built a reputation internally as a guy who does everything right.

Newly signed center Tyler Linderbaum is already a hit in Raiders camp. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

• Outside of that, however, the Raiders have a host of questions on offense. One is at right guard. If the assumption is that 49ers import Spencer Burford is the left guard, then the spot opposite that needs to shake out, with Jackson Powers-Johnson and Caleb Rogers in that mix.

The receiver spot is another obvious place to look, as far as open spots go. Free agent pickup Jalen “Speedy” Nailor is a nice piece. And one darkhorse to watch would be sixth-round pick Malik Benson, who has made a bunch of plays, proven himself as a worker, and plays with a chip on his shoulder.

• Defensively, the front seven should be a lot better, with free agent additions Quay Walker, Nakobe Dean and Kwity Paye giving Maxx Crosby some much-needed help opposite (Paye) and behind (Walker, Dean) him. How big a step the group takes probably will depend on how the Raiders make it work on the interior of the defensive line—where they’re still feeling some of the fallout from the Christian Wilkins saga last year.

To that end, 2025 fourth-round pick Tonka Hemingway is emerging as a player to watch, with high-end natural athleticism that his college coaches and teammates at South Carolina told NFL folks about a couple years ago. He looks like he’s developing into a potential force as a 3-technique.

Defensive tackle Tonka Hemingway played sparingly as a rookie. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

• The Raiders like the intelligence and knowhow of safeties Jeremy Chinn and Isaiah Palo-Mao, and cornerback Eric Stokes and nickel Taron Johnson, coming over from Buffalo, have had solid offseasons. That leaves right corner as another pivotal spot. 

Second-year man Darien Porter is battling two rookies to win the job. One is fourth-round pick Jermod McCoy, who may have been the first corner taken in April had it not been for a degenerative knee condition. He made it through the spring and now four camp practices without needing a day off to manage it, so there’s cautious optimism there. But the one who has really surprised is fifth-round pick Hezekiah Masses, who has played his way into the competition. That’s great news when combined with flashes from guys like Benson and Hemingway, because Kubiak and GM John Spytek, above all else, need to continue to find and develop as much young talent as they can.

---