The entire football world is seemingly in California's Bay Area this week ahead of Super Bowl LX. The rumor mill has been spinning at an unbelievably high speed, and the access to players has lent its hand to some serious gossip. The Las Vegas Raiders, of course, are not exempt from this.
Maxx Crosby's name has been on the lips of every reporter and player this week, as teams and fanbases scramble to find ways to acquire the superstar defender. Ashton Jeanty has made his rounds in the media, too. Oh, and everyone is talking about the Raiders' reported hire of Klint Kubiak.
And then, Indiana quarterback and Las Vegas' projected No. 1 pick in April's draft, Fernando Mendoza, joined the media festivities on Friday. Of course, Kay Adams asked Mendoza about Raider Nation, who he seems to love, as well as being the No. 1 pick, which he seems excited about.
Fernando Mendoza fawned over Tom Brady and Klint Kubiak on Pat McAfee
Then, Mendoza hopped on The Pat McAfee Show on radio row, where he was asked perhaps a more pressing question: Has college football's best player begun watching Kubiak's offensive system, and what are his impressions of the offense that he is likely to play in next fall? Mendoza answered:
"Throughout this entire season, we actually had a little bit of a Kubiak-McVay system. Not for our RPO system, but for our play action. And the way that he's able to incorporate outside zone and get the edge with the run game, where the running back either collect the edge, hit the hole or cut back and be able to do play action off of that, bootleg off of that," Mendoza said. "And the way he's developed Sam Darnold has been phenomenal. So, I've actually watched, just being a football fan, before he got hired. Watched a lot of breakdowns of his film ... Huge fan of his work."
Having a talented quarterback is quintessential to having success in the NFL. A great offensive play-caller who can scheme people open is also important. But when those two people have tremendous synergy, that is when a team can take things to the next level.
It sounds like Mendoza is already familiar with Kubiak's system, as he also told Colin Cowherd that he watched every single clip of Sam Darnold from this past year. He is well-versed. If Mendoza and Kubiak can have that ever-elusive synergy, then the future is incredibly bright in Las Vegas.
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Tom Brady is also apparently more involved with the Raiders than most thought he was. Fans have long understood Mendoza's infatuation with Brady, but he spoke about it again on Friday, leading fans to believe even more that he is excited about a chance to work with Las Vegas' minority owner.
"Tom Brady, he's been a huge football idol of mine. And the way that he has processes and systems, and the way that he talks about his leadership is something that's always resonated with myself, as (he's) never been the strongest, never been the biggest, and never been the fastest," Mendoza said. "However, the way that he prepares and really has a process about going about things and having discipline ... Having that discipline has really inspired myself as a young guy who wasn't always really highly recruited and was usually an underdog. Now, you know, I'm up upper dog, and I have to prove every day that I am where I belong, but having that underdog story, it's someone that I've looked up to for a long time."
Between his respect for Kubiak's system and idolization of Brady, it's hard to imagine Mendoza landing in a better spot than Las Vegas. The Raiders, for the first time in forever, actually have the infrastructure to support a promising rookie quarterback.
If Las Vegas can build a fortress of an offensive line around Mendoza and add another high-end pass-catcher for him out wide, then it may not be long until the rookie quarterback is thriving. It'll be okay if he has some growing pains in his first year, though, because the Raiders' future is bright, regardless.