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This NFL Draft centers around Fernando Mendoza.
There aren’t many other prospects who are already household names. There’s certainly not another quarterback guaranteed to be picked in the top half of the first round. The one ready-made star entering the NFL Draft is the Indiana quarterback who led the traditionally bereft Hoosiers to a 16-0 national championship, one of the great stories in American team sports.
It’s not a draft with a lot of sizzle. But there’s Mendoza, who is a heavy favorite to go first overall to the Las Vegas Raiders. To nobody’s surprise Mendoza said Friday at the NFL scouting combine he had a formal interview with the Raiders, in which he went over plays he ran in college and drew plays on the board.
“It was a fantastic interview,” Mendoza said at the podium, via The Draft Network. “I thought it was a great meeting. I know they have the prospective No. 1 pick, but anything can happen in the draft. I’m just excited for the opportunity and whatever team drafts me I’m going to give them everything I’ve got.”
Tom Brady is a minority owner in the Raiders and he has a say in personnel decisions, so Mendoza and Brady will be connected if the Raiders pick Mendoza as expected. The chance to be mentored by Brady is appealing to a young quarterback like Mendoza.
“Who hasn’t admired Tom Brady, guys?” Mendoza said.
Mendoza said he got a chance to talk to Brady already.
“I was able to say a brief hi on the phone to Brady. That was very special to me,” Mendoza said, via WISH-TV. “Look forward to meeting him in person, hopefully, one day, and learning from him.”
Mendoza was at his NFL scouting combine media availability a minute before scheduled, and at one point politely directed a question to “someone who hasn’t asked yet,” which tracks. Mendoza’s intangibles are a big reason he played so well and why he is considered the top quarterback in the draft. He also has an NFL skill set, which is a big reason he won a Heisman Trophy.
The Raiders wanted the first overall pick badly enough that they shut down key players late, including defensive end Maxx Crosby against his wishes, in a pretty clear attempt to lose games. It worked and Las Vegas has been on the clock with the first pick since the season ended.
Mendoza, who mentioned a couple times as he remained humble that he isn’t guaranteeing he’ll be the top pick of the draft, said being a leader for any NFL team starts with playing well and that’s what he’s most
“That’s where all my focus goes: football, football, football,” Mendoza said.
Mendoza isn’t a sure-fire top prospect at quarterback like some of the No. 1 overall picks of recent past. There was a stir this week when ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky said that Alabama’s Ty Simpson, expected to be the second quarterback selected, had better tape in the first half of the season than Mendoza. Mendoza wasn’t a big high-school prospect either and became the best player in college football.
“I was a raw prospect,” Mendoza said. “I was terrible.”
He improved from humble beginnings to likely being the first pick of the NFL Draft.
“Well, the pick has not been selected yet,” Mendoza said. “Whatever team drafts me, I’m extremely grateful, Whether it’s No. 1 pick or the last pick in the draft, I’d be blessed and honored to be drafted by any team and give them my all.“