Mendoza is Officially the Raiders' New Face of the Franchise

Maxx Crosby was the face of the Las Vegas Raiders for most of his career. This is especially true for the Raiders since their move to Las Vegas. No one player has been more synonomous with the Raiders in recenty memory than Crosby and rightfully so.

Crosby spent most of his career on bad teams and will now have an immediate and legitimate chance at the Super Bowl for the first time. In return, the Raiders received two first-round picks. One of which is the No. 14 pick in this year's draft to go along with the No. 1 overall pick.

Officially Official

The Raiders were already all but guaranteed to select quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 overall pick, solidifying what has been one of the worst quarterback situations in the league over the past three seasons. Mendoza, paired with newly hired Klint Kubiak will reset the Raiders' offense.

Those two first-round picks, and the nearly $31 million in cap space saved this offseason sets Las Vegas up for the long haul, even after trading what has been their best player over the past half-decade. With those picks in hand, the Raiders have a clear path to set Mendoza up for success.

Torch Passed

Even if Crosby had returned, he likely would have handled the attention that comes with a team adding a high-profile draft pick professionally. However, with Crosby on his way to Baltimore, the Raiders have now paved the way for Mendoza to take over as the face of the franchise from day one.

The Raiders also cleared the path for this by releasing quarterback Geno Smith instead of holding on to him in hopes of receiving compensation for him. Smith was not the face of the franchise, but removing a highly paid, disgruntled veteran quarterback gives everyone a clean slate.

After many years of few things going right for the Raiders, the future is bright for the Silver and Black. Moving forward, the Raiders will go as Mendoza goes. They must give Mendoza what he needs to be successful on and off the field. The Raiders finally appear to be headed in the right direction.

Raiders general manager John Spytek recently noted what he is looking for in a franchise quarterback. Many of the traits he described were displayed by Mendoza during his Heisman Trophy-winning season.

"Well, a leader, tough as hell, somebody that loves to play football, maniacal preparer. Obviously, somebody that can throw the ball well, but I think just somebody that loves the game and will give everything their teammate, a selfless person, somebody that's going to give their team everything that they got every time that they're out there,” Spytek said.

“Prepare the right way, lead the right way. I think there's a great humility and selflessness required to play that position at a high level."