HENDERSON, Nev. — Fernando Mendoza has received in offseason practices a taste of what’s to come, however the true glare of the spotlight won’t begin to truly focus on him until late July when the Las Vegas Raiders opening training camp.
Then everything will be dissected — his passes, his play behind center, which section of the depth chart he is quarterbacking.
That comes with being the No. 1 overall draft pick, especially at that position.
“I’m really working hard with (the) coaching staff, who’s pushing me and have done a phenomenal job of relaying and communicating the information needed,” Mendoza said. “It’s up to me to take full advantage of that, and I feel like I’ve been growing every day from the first day of OTAs, then (Tuesday) in minicamp. I feel like I’m leaps and bounds ahead of where I was.”
Though the Raiders aren’t forcing Mendoza to come in and immediately be the team’s franchise QB — all indications point to veteran Kirk Cousins entering the season as the starter — that doesn’t mean coaches have held back in hitting the rookie with the playbook.
“He’s gotten a ton better, putting the work in,” coach Klint Kubiak said. “I think it is an adjustment, but with anyone coming into the league, you got to put the work into it and he’s done that. We’re going to ask him to play under center, we’re going to ask him to play in the gun, we’re going to ask him to play in the pistol. All of our quarterbacks. That’s not just us, that’s a leaguewide thing.
“But the things we’ve asked him to improve on, he’s been diligent at.”
Mendoza said he went through a similar transition after transferring from California to Indiana and experienced a rough spring practice, not looking like the player who would that season win the Heisman Trophy and stunningly lead the Hoosiers to their first national championship.
That experience, he said, has made taking in so much new — information, teammates, coaches, system — that he’s handled it better than a year ago.
“I’m growing,” Mendoza said. “This isn’t the Super Bowl today.”
He might not be the starter, yet, but Mendoza is getting that kind of treatment.
Mendoza enthusiastically cranked the horn with his Raiders teammates cheering him on at Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Vegas Golden Knights and Carolina Hurricanes. A Mendoza bobblehead of him with the famous Las Vegas welcome sign also was unveiled.
The quarterbacks room of Mendoza, Cousins and Aidan O’Connell has worked together, but there’s also a competition.
Cousins made it clear he’s not in Las Vegas to serve as Mendoza’s mentor.
“I’m learning a lot from them, too, and asking questions of them,” Cousins said. “It’s always been a working force together in the quarterback room, and that’s what it is. Nobody’s leading more than someone else.
“I’ve always felt I prepare my best during the season when we can all kind of be together in that room in the evening, going over things together rather than working in our own silos. I think when we can kind of all be given feedback on each other, that’s when I think the best ideas come out.”
Kubiak agreed with Cousins’ assessment.
“We never ask anybody to be a mentor,” Kubiak said. “If you’re on the roster, it’s to play and to play really well for the team. That’s the quarterback’s job, all three of them, is to get ready to play and win games at a high level. Then when everybody’s doing that, they’re pushing each other, it creates competition, and the whole roster gets better. All I want from our quarterbacks is to be competitive and to all prepare like they’re starters.”
Linebacker Nakobe Dean, who signed a three-year, $36 million contract with the Raiders, did not practice the two days of mandatory minicamp this week.
Kubiak wouldn’t tip his hand on if Dean is injured.
“Nakobe’s been here every day,” Kubiak said. “He didn’t practice, but all injuries and things like that, I don’t want to talk about this time of year. We just want to get all our guys healthy to training camp. That’s really the most important thing.”
Dean played four seasons with Philadelphia, making 226 tackles, 19 for loss and 7 1/2 sacks.