The Las Vegas Raiders made a much-needed addition to the wide receiver room this offseason when they signed free agent Jalen Nailor. Although not the most productive wideout on the open market, Nailor has the physical tools and pedigree to be a great pass-catcher in a now-expanded role.
It remains unknown exactly who the Raiders' No. 1 wide receiver will be, as Nailor and Tre Tucker haven't exactly thrived with that designation, and both Jack Bech and Dont'e Thornton Jr. still need quite a bit of development. But more talent is always better for the wide receiver room.
Plus, the ultimate way to raise the level of a pass-catching group is to give them a great quarterback. Las Vegas may very well land one with the first overall pick in April's draft, Fernando Mendoza, and it sounds like Nailor is chomping at the bit to play with him.
Raiders' Jalen Nailor sure seems excited about playing with Fernando Mendoza
Nailor made an appearance on the Up & Adams Show on Thursday morning, and host Kay Adams asked the Raiders' new wide receiver what he thought of Mendoza as a quarterback. Nailor couldn't hide his feelings about the young prospect.
"He's a football guy; he's a football player. He wants to win. The touch he has on his passes, those accurate passes that he makes, it really pops out," Nailor said. "He's a mobile quarterback. He can get on the ground and he can run a little bit. So, just to have those aspects of him as a quarterback, he's on the taller end as well, so seeing over the line won't be an issue. He has all the things that you want in a quarterback."
First of all, calling someone a "football guy" is like the ultimate compliment, especially for a quarterback. Second of all, it seems like Nailor is quite familiar with Mendoza's game and seemingly loves it, so things should go off without a hitch when the latter finally arrives.
For the last two or so years, Nailor worked with young quarterback J.J. McCarthy in Minnesota. Adams also asked Nailor about how he intends on helping a potential young signal-caller, like Mendoza, based on that experience with McCarthy, and he had a great response.
"First would just be just learn the offense. Getting in with him, breaking down film, breaking down the playbook. Just trying to get on the same page, I would say," Nailor noted. "And then just finding those times on the field, off the field, just to just to talk ball. Just to be in the same presence and just continue building as a receiver and just building him up as a quarterback. Instilling that confidence in him that he can have in me to go out there and perform to his best ability."
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Adams then made the comment that Mendoza's strengths match Nailor's, and the veteran wideout agreed, also saying that he can't wait to start catching go-balls from his new quarterback in Las Vegas.
"Oh, absolutely. I feel like we're gonna complement each other," Nailor said.
Raiders fans are 99.99% sure that the team is going to select Mendoza, but the Maxx Crosby trade debacle taught them not to count their chickens before they hatch. Still, they'll surely latch on to Nailor's choice of phrasing, saying that they're "gonna" complement each other, not "would."
Obviously, Nailor isn't involved in the team's personnel decisions, nor is he likely to be privvy to most of them. But if he's under the impression that Mendoza is soon heading to Las Vegas, and he's excited about it, then Raider Nation can confidently feel the same way.