INDIANAPOLIS – Just before 8 a.m. in Hall J of the Indianapolis Convention Center on Friday, The Promised One stepped to the podium.
This is what a franchise quarterback is supposed to look like, supposed to sound like. Sure, as Mendoza, 22, alluded to during his 13-minute media session, there is no cookie-cutter when it comes to what constitutes an NFL star.
Lamar Jackson looks and sounds nothing like Josh Allen, who looks and sounds nothing like the great Patrick Mahomes. Big-time ballers come in all shapes, shades and sizes.
Still, if you’re that team that for so many years has wallowed in mediocrity – hey, Silver and Black – and been unable to get out of its own way as it cycled through one coach after another, one quarterback after another, in matching Mendoza with the No. 1 pick overall in the upcoming NFL draft you are revived by the idea that miracles can indeed happen.
Somewhere, Al Davis is crowing.
Not only does Mendoza look the part, he’s fresh off leading Indiana – yes, Indiana! – to the national crown. He won the Heisman Trophy. And he’s tough. For all of his big stats and highlight throws, winning the natty came down to Mendoza barreling into the end zone like somebody’s Bronko Nagurski. The kid will sell tickets, but most of all he can play.
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And hey, some of us think he has jokes, too.
“The pick has not been selected yet,” Mendoza said of what lies ahead when the Raiders turn in the draft card on April 23. “Whatever team drafts me, I’m extremely grateful.
“Like I said, if I was the No. 1 pick or whether it’s the last pick in the draft, I’d be blessed and honored to be picked by any team, giving them my all.”
The last pick in the draft? Is he kidding?
Then again, that Mendoza seemingly will take nothing for granted, is one reason Raiders rookie coach Klint Kubiak can count his blessings. In explaining his obsession with minute details, Mendoza pointed out how he was the nation’s 134th-ranked quarterback coming out of high school.
And look at him now. He’s a poster child for details.
“That was a true ranking,” Mendoza reflected. “I was a raw prospect. I was terrible. And it’s about the small wins every day.”
Next up for Fernando Mendoza, Tom Brady pairing: meet in person
And now the big wins. The combine represents Mendoza’s opening act on an NFL stage, with the medical exams, meat-market measurements, interviews and the like. As you’d expect, QB11 drew the biggest crowd, of any probably all week, at his podium.
The first impression was textbook. Someone asked if he updated his LinkedIn profile.
“Well, right now, I’m unemployed,” Mendoza said. “I have no job. So, this is my job interview right now and like everyone says, it’s the most important job interview of your life. So, right now, I’m just trying to do everything to hopefully get employed.”
Yeah, the kid can spin it in more ways than one. Tom Brady is going to love pouring into Mendoza. And vice-versa.
Brady, the Raiders minority owner who entered the NFL as a sixth-round pick, isn’t on site as Mendoza goes through the combine paces. Even though Brady attended the national championship game with Raiders owner Mark Davis, he’s yet to meet Mendoza in person. But it’s coming.
When Mendoza met with key Raiders powerbrokers at the combine, the session began with a quick telephone hook-up with Brady.
“I was able to say a brief hi on the phone to Brady,” Mendoza said, “and so that was very special to me and I look forward to meeting him in person, hopefully, one day.”
Hopefully, he admits, it goes much deeper than that. Given Brady’s investment in the Raiders – with competitive football juices layered on top of his financial stake – Mendoza is seemingly on the verge of gaining the best resource any young quarterback could dream of.
No, it doesn’t seem fair. Brady won seven Super Bowl rings, gets a piece of the Raiders, doubles with his high-profile role as a Fox Sports analyst and is now poised, too, to tutor a QB with star potential.
“That opportunity would be fantastic,” Mendoza gushed. “Tom Brady, I believe, is the greatest quarterback of all time, by a wide margin, and to be able to be mentored by him, it would mean so much. Especially to learn, and I’m all about learning.
“So, from Day 1, I’ve got to learn a lot. It’s going to be a long journey. And so, to potentially have a mentor like that, it would be pretty impressive and pretty meaningful.”
Mendoza looks the part, but Raiders must build around him
Mendoza will need plenty of support beyond Brady. Too often, teams land their franchise quarterback of the future with a high draft pick, only to fail to put the pieces around him. Ask Sam Darnold, who just won a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks, years after the New York Jets were supposed to take off with him at quarterback.
Then again, sometimes, it goes both ways. Look at the Indianapolis Colts, open for trade offers for Anthony Richardson, drafted fourth overall in 2023. The Colts failed the quarterback and the quarterback failed the team – with bad luck on top of that equation.
In Mendoza’s case, though, he seems built for this moment after a circuitous journey from his hometown of Miami to Cal to IU, and three years starting on the college level. He also seems well-equipped to handle the spotlight and pressure.
He knows. With his status and position, leadership is an essential component for the expectations. He can ask Brady all about that.
“I believe that with an NFL franchise, to lead it you need equity,” Mendoza said. “And you need two things to build equity. No. 1, you want to play well. That’s where all my focus goes: football, football, football. If you want to lead, you’ve first got to play well.
“And second, to have the respect of your teammates. Through work ethic, through your leadership, through your tenacity, the way that you respond to mistakes. And so those are all things I’m looking to work on.”
Sounds like a plan. Even if the Raiders don’t select him (yeah, right) with the No. 1 pick.
“I’m just trying to be the best me possible,” Mendoza said. “Whatever team drafts me, I’m grateful, whether that’s the No. 1 pick, or the 199th pick.”
We heard that choice of words. The 199th pick, in 2000, happened to be a man named Brady … suddenly connected to The Promised One.
Contact Bell at jbell@usatoday.com or follow on X: @JarrettBell