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With the 2026 NFL Draft a couple of days away, we're nearing a crowning moment for Fernando Mendoza. Already an intriguing prospect following his redshirt sophomore season at California, Mendoza transferred to Indiana and made college football history.
Mendoza won the Heisman Trophy, then completed a 16-0 season while guiding the Hoosiers to their first-ever national championship. Now, everything is lined up for him to take over as the Las Vegas Raiders' franchise quarterback. The only thing standing in his way, at least temporarily, is Kirk Cousins.
The veteran quarterback was brought in by Las Vegas during free agency after Geno Smith departed the team. Cousins is expected to mentor the incoming Mendoza, although many believe he will actually be the starting quarterback to begin the 2026 season. New head coach Klint Kubiak has spoken about a rookie quarterback ideally sitting and learning to start his career.
Fernando Mendoza met Kirk Cousins during Top 30 Raiders visit
While Mendoza isn't a Raider just yet, he has already met with Cousins and begun forming a quarterback partnership. During his Top 30 visit to the Raiders facility, Mendoza saw Cousins and was able to "say hi to him". Mendoza spoke about Cousins during an interview with Kay Adams this week.
Funny enough while I was at Berkeley, I just watched him to learn from his game, the way that he reads defenses, his footwork. To be able to have this full circle moment, someone that I've studied to potentially have the opportunity to play with, someone who is a man of God, who's very cerebral and has had so much success throughout his entire career, would be an absolute blessing... Whatever nuggets he would want to give or something to learn, I would take in and emulate in my own game. Hopefully I can be teammates with him. He's not only a great player, he's a great leader of men.
Mendoza was filled with praise for Cousins, unsurprisingly. Cousins is well-respected around the league, and Mendoza is a true team-friendly player. The Raiders are close to completely revamping their quarterback room in a major way. The better man will end up as the starter, but there will be equal support from both sides.