Adam SchultzThu, April 30, 2026 at 1:01 AM UTC·2 min readRaiders' Fernando Mendoza reveals ideal mentality ahead of rookie season originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
When a quarterback is taken high in the draft, the expectation is that they will assume a leadership role straight away, but that might not be the case for Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza.
With the No. 1 overall pick coming to the Raiders and seen to be a backup to begin his career, he's gone from a big fish in a little pond to a little fish in a big pond.
He's got to start the climb again after being a leader at Indiana.
And that's not lost on Mendoza, who knows that if he wants to be the leader he needs to be for his franchise, he's got to start at the bottom, and earn it.
“Coming a new organization, starting from the bottom of the totem pole, I believe that leadership is earned, not given,” Mendoza said. “There’s so many amazing leaders on this team. Especially the quarterback, there’s two things you need to be a leader. Number one, you gotta play well. Play well, others will respect you.
"You gotta do your job before you can hold other people accountable. And, number two, you gotta create equity, whether it’s work ethic, whether it’s caring about your teammates, connect with them on a personal level. Just being one of the guys.”
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Fans can be forgiven for thinking the Raiders will rush Mendoza out there Week 1 and have him learn on the job, but Klint Kubiak, apparently, sees it differently.
With Kirk Cousins signed, there is a real thought that he will be the starter to begin the year, to allow Mendoza to grow, and work on his game to be ready for when his chance comes. He won't be thrown to the wolves.
We have seen that work well, with Patrick Mahomes a good example, sitting behind Alex Smith in Kansas City.
Now, Mendoza will likely do the same, armed with the self-awareness that he'll be starting from the bottom to begin his NFL journey.
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