Fernando Mendoza, Las Vegas Raiders
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(Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
The Las Vegas Raiders will be in attendance to watch Fernando Mendoza’s pro day on April 1. With the 2026 NFL Draft nearing, the Silver and Black need to decide on whether Mendoza is the guy they want to build their franchise around.
On March 30,Raiders general manager John Spytek spoke on ESPN’s “NFL Live,“ and one of the questions he received was about what he wants to see from Mendoza at his pro day.
“I think at any pro day, you just want to see guys compete and show up and be there for their teammates and put their best foot forward,“ Spytek said. I’ve been toa lot of great pro days in my career. I remember a lot of them, the best ones I’ve ever been a part of.
“Mostly when you go see these quarterbacks, they do an elite job. It’s a show.It’s scripted, and they know exactly what they’re doing and where they’re throwing it. Most of the time, you walk away being like, ‘That was a pretty good pro day.’“
Mendoza turned in an 87.9 overall PFF grade during the 2025 season for the Indiana Hoosiers, ranking 30th out of 302 qualified quarterbacks. His 83.7 passing grade placed him 35th at the position.
Over 336 dropbacks, he threw for 2,758 yards with 32 touchdowns and five interceptions. Furthermore, he recorded 16 big-time throws and nine turnover-worthy plays.
His average depth of target sat at 9.4 yards, and he averaged 2.63 seconds to throw. On the ground, Mendoza added 200 scramble yards and six rushing touchdowns.
What the Raiders Like About Fernando Mendoza
Meanwhile, as the Raiders get to know Mendoza better,the Spytek spoke about what they like about the player as the Silver and Black enter this final stretch to determine who they will take with the No. 1 pick.
“We’ve got a long way to go there, but I just love the way he competes,” Spytek added. “There’s a lot of guys on that Indiana team, and they didn’t go 16-0 just because Fernando was there. They’ve got a lot of great players. There’s a great team atmosphere in that group. You can feel it when you’re around the team. I got a chance to watch them play a couple of times this year. It’s fun to watch that, witness that, and be a part of things like that.”
Tom Brady’s Role in the Draft Process for Las Vegas
Moreover, Spytek spoke about the role Raiders minority owner Tom Brady will have in helping select the team’s next QB as they ponder whether that will be Mendoza.
“We would be a fool if we didn’t use Tom and his expertise at that level to help evaluate the quarterbacks,” Spytek said. “Fernando’s love of Tom’s game, and the fact that he was his favorite player growing up, is a nice side note to that, too.
“But we’ve got a big job to do here, and there’s going to be a lot required of any quarterback in the NFL, and certainly a lot required of a Raiders quarterback, knowing who one of our owners is.”