Raiders Not Worried About 1 Potential Mendoza Red Flag

The Las Vegas Raiders are only a few weeks away from making it official with top quarterback prospect Fernando Mendoza. Mendoza is gonna go to the Raiders with the first overall pick of the 2026 NFL Draft.

The Raiders will get their quarterback of the future, and they will have one for the first time in a long time that they can plan for and how they want to build around. For now, they wait patiently for draft night, and Mendoza is ready to be a Raider.

Fernando Mendoza participates in Indiana University's Pro Day at Mellencamp Pavilion on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. | Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Going into the draft, one of the discussions that has surrounded Mendoza has been the lack of snaps he got under center in college. Most of the snaps for Mendoza came out of Shotgun

. That has been a topic because the new Raiders head coach, Klint Kubiak, and his offense is one in which the quarterback is under center a lot of the time. Even with Mendoza not being used to being under center, that is something that does not concern the Raiders.

Raiders confident in Mendoza going under center

Over the years, we have seen this with other quarterbacks who are coming out of college. It has worked out fine for them, and it will as well for Mendoza. Mendoza has been hard at work getting used to being under center. This offseason, he has been working on it, and we saw it at his pro day. Mendoza showed how he has been working on that, and it was important to show that it is something he is willing to do as he gets ready for the next level.

"I do not think they should be concerned very much at all," said NFL analyst Louis Riddick. "You think that Kubiak does not know the numbers for Mendoza, in terms of snaps he has taken under center ... Fernando has been working with Brian Griese. The guy who is responsible for getting Brock Purdy to San Francisco, who has played in this offense, is his entire career. Griese has communiucated with me that he [Mendoza] has picked it up very quickly."

Feb 10, 2026; Henderson, NV, USA; Las Vegas Raiders coach Klint Kubiak speaks at introductory press conference at Intermountain Health Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

All the signs point to the Raiders getting a quarterback who is ready to learn and do whatever it takes to be the future for this franchise. Mendoza's work ethic is like no other and that is exactly what the Raiders need at the quarterback position. He will continue to develop all offseason long, and we are going to see all the hard work pay off for this great rookie quarterback.