Haven't been spending anytime on football because this is a sportsman's time of year bonanza. This article came across my desk from the Athletic and it's paywalled but I'll post some of the highlites. It'll give you a better understanding of what the raiders are getting....
Fernando Mendoza film review: Why he’s top-pick-worthy and what he needs to adjust
.....Fernando Mendoza is a much different prospect than what the general perception of him is. Many assume that the Heisman Trophy winner, national champion and frontrunner to be the draft’s top pick is a polished pocket passer who’s ready to get plugged into an NFL offense immediately.
After watching the film, he’s a more traits-based quarterback that needs development, but he’s still worthy of the No. 1 pick. He doesn’t have an elite arm, but it’s just a tier below, and he can make high-level throws into all areas of the field with pinpoint accuracy and is an excellent deep-ball thrower. He understands coverages and how to attack them and can throw with proper timing and footwork. He has all the traits that coaches from the Shanahan/McVay tree covet in spades, with prototypical size.
A common talking point is that Mendoza didn’t play under center much in college. And there are plays in which his processing could be quicker, but you can also chalk that up to having to learn an entirely new offensive system and play style, transferring from Cal to Indiana for his final season. To understand Mendoza’s rapid development from his first games at Indiana to peaking in the college football playoffs, I talked to his quarterback coach at Indiana, Chandler Whitmer, who is now the quarterbacks coach for the Buccaneers. Before his one year in Indiana, Whitmer had coached in the NFL since 2021.
Whitmer said Mendoza picked up the offense pretty quickly, but they did ask him to do more than he did at Cal. The base of Indiana’s offense is a heavy run game with run/pass options on early downs, but their run-heavy attack would put Mendoza into second- or third-and-long situations in which he was asked to do more from a mental perspective as far as taking deeper drop-backs, reading coverages and eliminating options pre-snap. It’s obvious when listening to Mendoza in interviews that he understands coverages at a high level and he loves the mental side of the game. It’s one of his most intriguing traits and it showed up in the playoffs.
“I’d say (his football IQ) is pretty high and it’s only going to keep getting better, but the beauty is his capacity is really high,” Whitmer said. “Like I said, he’s got a yearning to learn and then he has the ability to understand, compartmentalize and then take it to the field. (Justin) Herbert was very similar in that way — high intelligence, super smart, obviously. But then to be able to take it to the field and execute and process at a high level at full speed when the bullets are flying and the pictures change … He’s as good as I’ve ever seen in college, for sure.”
One Big 10 defensive assistant, who faced Indiana and saw firsthand what Mendoza, echoed Whitmer’s assessment.
“He never makes mistakes,” the coach said. “He’s gotta be extremely intelligent because he’s always making the right decision. We play one-high; he goes immediately to throw back-shoulder. Two-high shell with the safeties wide, he gets into a cover 2 check to a run play and gets 5 yards. We send pressure here, he changes the play to something else. The efficiency was insane.
“He’s a top pick in the draft. I don’t know who would be better.”
Mendoza’s physical traits are also excellent. He may not have one physical trait that gets an A-plus (unless you count accuracy), but he gets a B-plus across the board.
Mendoza can throw fade passes with different trajectories. Whether he wants to throw low-trajectory passes with zip or throw them with touch, he throws the back shoulder as well as any quarterback in recent years. In Indiana’s offense, the fade from the outside or from the slot was their answer against pressure or man coverage. These are highly difficult passes that Mendoza completed in high-leverage situations, including two in the second half of the national championship game that helped secure a victory.
He’s not going to be running many option plays, but his straight-line speed will be a legit tool in the NFL. He can get away from the pass rush, and at 6-5, 236 pounds, he’s difficult to bring down. He’ll have to rely less on late-down scrambles, but he’ll pick up his fair share of first downs with his legs.
The biggest flaw in his game is a tendency to hold the ball while not sensing backside pressure. There were times he had open receivers downfield or his check-down open, and he would hesitate and take a sack. His negative play rate — something that tends to be difficult to improve on in the pros — is a red flag. However, I believe some of it was him learning a new system and just believing too much in his athleticism, trying to make plays with his legs. He has to realize that he won’t be able to use his legs as much in the NFL. He’ll have to get rid of the ball quickly more consistently.
“We ran simple four verts and we got three different coverages,” Whitmer explained. “And his ability to know exactly where to go on each one of them, whether it be single-high zone, man, or (cover) two, and the way he played that play, and manipulated the defenders, used his eyes, and his feet timed up and the different nuances that come to playing a simple concept like that was a big one for me.”
The first time Indiana called “four verts,” Penn State played cover 3 zone. Mendoza stared down the safety to keep him in the middle of the field. He finished his drop, didn’t take a hitch, and delivered a perfect throw down the seam in rhythm for 22 yards to Omar Cooper Jr.
The ability to internalize information and quickly translate it on the field is one of the most important traits for a quarterback. There are times when you don’t get to go through certain plays or situations in practice, and sometimes, you must be able to execute an adjustment quickly in-game. Mendoza’s most spectacular throw of the season was a great example of executing a play that was just installed that week at the highest level.
“We had this play in L.A. with (Justin) Herbert,” Whitmer said, referring to his time as a Chargers assistant. “Because his arm is so big, on third-and-extra long situations, a lot of teams play deep cover 2. Well, we’d have simply just basically double (go routes) and then a read (route) down the middle, and he’d work the strong-side verticals against the field safety. And if the field safety would squeeze that No. 2 vertical, you’d throw the hole shot down the sideline.”
Former Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia brought NFL disguises to an Ohio State defense that could have three defenders picked in the top 10 in this year’s draft. Mendoza had the most efficient game of any quarterback against them all season.
Mendoza’s football IQ, ability to quickly translate on the field what he’s taught and work ethic, combined with his physical traits, make him worthy of the top pick of the draft. He needs to make some adjustments to his game — get rid of the ball quicker and learn to play under center — and his transition to the NFL game won’t be as easy as some think, but he has all the traits necessary to excel in Kubiak’s scheme.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/707315 ... d=14677638
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There is a video and graphics and film breakdown explains his ability to read and react if you get the whole article.
