Las Vegas Raiders fans largely know what they're getting into with the likely selection of Fernando Mendoza at No. 1 overall in the 2026 NFL Draft later this month. They've watched the games, the Pro Day, the interviews, the cut-ups and everything else. He is the undisputed "guy" amongst the fanbase.
So much so that a former NFL quarterback like Dan Orlovsky tearing him down a bit to prop up Alabama's Ty Simpson instead doesn't even bother Raider Nation. That's how confident the Silver and Black's supporters are in the Indiana product before he's even stepped foot in an NFL locker room.
And yet something is still so reassuring about hearing someone credible echo what the fanbase has been shouting from the rooftops since December, and perhaps earlier. Legendary Raider Rich Gannon continued to shower praise on Mendoza and validate Las Vegas fans in a recent interview.
Former Raiders QB Rich Gannon continues to praise probable future Las Vegas QB Fernando Mendoza
Gannon, who attended Klint Kubiak's introductory presser and has kept a firm pulse on the team this offseason, spoke about how he sees Kubiak and his former coach, Jon Gruden, as similar. He's also praised and evaluated Mendoza once before, and Gannon did so again recently on Schein Time.
"What he represents is hope for the future. And we haven't had that in a while," Gannon said. "You look at him, I think he's got a lot of the qualities and characteristics that you love at that position. ... I love his size. He's almost 6-foot-5, he's 235 pounds. When you think about that frame, you think about players like Josh Allen and Justin Herbert. He's a big, strong guy. He's willing to sit in there with a tough jaw. He's got athleticism, he can escape (the pocket), he can manufacture some offense on his own. A high completion percentage player at Indiana, 69%. Threw three times as many touchdowns as interceptions."
It sounds like Mendoza checks pretty much every box for Gannon, who was both an MVP quarterback in the NFL and led the Silver and Black to the Super Bowl back in 2002. That is a high burden of proof for Raiders fans who were already confident in Mendoza's ability anyway.
Now, ability does not always translate into success at the professional level. Plenty of players have either the physical makeup or mental capacity to get it done in the NFL and can't get the other to come along at a similar rate. But by all accounts, Mendoza has both, which is quite rare.
But Gannon, smartly, wouldn't anoint Mendoza, especially before he's even heard his name called on draft night.
"I think he's gonna be a great player in the National Football League. I'm not making predictions that he's gonna be the Rookie of the Year next year, that he's gonna be a perennial Pro Bowl player. I just think he has a lot of the traits that you really look for at the quarterback position."
Traits are great. The insatiable work ethic that Mendoza has is even better. And with a crew of gurus around like Kubiak, Andrew Janocko and Mike Sullivan, the Raiders' soon-to-be-quarterback should have every tool at his disposal to reach the level that fans, and Gannon, believe he can reach.