Las Vegas Raiders top overall draft pick Fernando Mendoza is not perfect.
The star quarterback’s coaches are fine with that.
“It’s not going to happen overnight, just learning and mastering everything,” assistant head coach Mike McCoy said after Tuesday’s mandatory minicamp practice of the process of developing Mendoza. “There’s going to be mistakes, but I’m a true believer that the only way to learn is by making some mistakes. There are going to be ups and downs. It’s a long season.”
McCoy has plenty of experience around young quarterbacks. He was on the staff in Tennessee last year with top pick Cam Ward and previously worked with first-round quarterbacks Tim Tebow and Trevor Lawrence within their first two seasons.
He has been impressed with what he has seen from Mendoza, independent of when he is throwing the ball.
“You love the type of person he is, his leadership, the way he is with his teammates,” McCoy said. “You see the way he interacts with everybody, the way he is in the huddle, the way he is in between his reps talking to guys. He’s a leader, and he’s got a very bright future. He understands the challenge at hand, what he has to do to become a pro and learn, and I can’t say enough about the coaches in the quarterback room, and then the vets that are here helping him. And then the other teammates that are helping him learn how to be a pro and what it’s about playing in the NFL.”
It’s no surprise to McCoy, who was part of the evaluation process as the Raiders were deciding whether to select Mendoza.
He is a longtime confidant of coach Klint Kubiak, going back to the days McCoy played for his father, Gary, in Denver. They were later on the same staff in Denver when the younger Kubiak went into coaching and was a natural choice to serve as assistant head coach on his first staff.
McCoy isn’t directly working with the quarterbacks in this role but was part of the inner circle evaluating Mendoza before the draft.
One of the first things he noticed was how good of questions Mendoza would ask in meetings, a trait that has carried over now that he’s part of the organization.
Mendoza said a key to learning is not just asking good questions but listening and processing the answers.
That helps cut down on the errors at practice and makes the time on the field even more valuable. But when there are errors, Mendoza makes sure to correct them.
“There are mistakes I’ve made in practice,” he said. “Everyone does. And I have gotten a little frustrated at times with those mistakes after practice. But that’s good, and it’s healthy. Because if you’re frustrated about it, you will put more focus and intent on not making that mistake again. There’s no problem making a mistake, but you don’t want to be a repeat offender.”
Mendoza acknowledged, however, that avoiding mistakes can’t be the only goal because it can lead to overly cautious play and too much pressure to be exact.
The key is being as prepared as possible in order to be aggressive without being reckless, a delicate balance that requires practice on the field and in the meeting rooms.
Veteran Kirk Cousins, who has been taking all of the first-team reps in practice and is expected to at least enter training camp as the team’s starting quarterback, has noticed Mendoza’s attention to detail.
He believes that will serve the rookie well as he tries to lay the foundation for a long career.
“He’s doing a great job, working hard, asking questions, learning the system, doing everything he should be doing,” Cousins said. “You just keep stacking days, one day at a time. You keep building. You keep doing that, and you look back, and it’s been 14 seasons, like for me. So he just has good habits, and those will serve him well as he keeps going forward.”
While Mendoza admits he has been frustrated at times with some of the growing pains, he has recent experience to draw on.
He had a tough time adjusting to Curt Cignetti’s offense his first few months at Indiana last year. That turned out pretty well.
“It has been smoother here for having gone through that process,” Mendoza said.
Another reason for optimism is that Mendoza feels some of the mistakes he has made have been correctable as opposed to being overwhelmed or facing a talent deficit.
It’s been more about footwork here or timing of a route there. Plus, he knows if the process was easy, he wouldn’t be getting any better.
“I’m working very hard with the coaching staff who are pushing me and giving me the communication needed,” Mendoza said. “It’s up to me to take advantage of that and I feel like I’m growing in that every day from the first day of OTAs to today at minicamp, I feel like I’m leaps and bounds ahead of where I was.
“There’s always a transition. There’s going to be growing pains. It’s about having those positive stressors and that growing period.”
That’s true even for a No. 1 pick with all the expectations and hopes of a fanbase riding on his right shoulder.
Mendoza is blocking all that out.
“There is no denying that there is fanfare and excitement from the outside looking in,” he said. “But expectations are all in the future tense. And if I just focus on the present, I know I’ll be able to get there one day in the future. But worrying about the future doesn’t do me any good right now.
“I’m repping with the (third-stringers) and a little bit with the twos. So I’m just trying to prove myself and do my best with every rep I get.”
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.
