HENDERSON, Nev. -- There isn't a particular moment that convinced the Las Vegas Raiders players and coaches that No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza was ready to be the team's starting quarterback. It's a collection of things the rookie has done since he arrived at the facility in April.
For coach Klint Kubiak, it's Mendoza's improvement in his accuracy and knowledge of the offense each week. A month ago, backup quarterback Aidan O'Connell recalled watching Mendoza make a few throws in practice, causing him to turn to quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan and assistant head coach Mike McCoy and say, "Those were incredible."
Wide receiver Tre Tucker, on the other hand, knew Mendoza was capable of being QB1 when he watched the College Football Playoff National Championship game this past January and saw him lower his shoulder to knock off a Miami defender before diving into the end zone for a touchdown that helped Indiana secure its first-ever title.
"That shows you the kind of guy we are getting," Tucker said.
On Tuesday, Mendoza was named the starting quarterback after the Raiders traded veteran Kirk Cousins to the Minnesota Vikings. The Raiders' decision to move on from Cousins sent shock waves through the locker room. But with Mendoza, the first quarterback taken by the Raiders in the first round since 2007, waiting in the wings, the team knew this moment would come at some point.
As abrupt as the change of power might have felt, the Raiders believe Mendoza is ready for his starting debut Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks, the reigning Super Bowl champs and one of the league's most menacing defenses.
"Obviously there's a learning curve there, but Fernando is someone who just works extremely hard," starting center Tyler Linderbaum said. "... Anytime you get that with someone who wants to be great, and then on top of that has great mentors with them, I think it's very important. He's ready. We're ready."
The Raiders might have been more hesitant to move on from Cousins, who is second in the league in touchdown passes this season, if they felt Mendoza couldn't handle the role. To that point, Kubiak doesn't plan to make things easy for Mendoza in his debut.
Kubiak won't hold anything back from Mendoza and believes the 23-year-old signal-caller can operate the entire playbook. That confidence comes from Mendoza preparing as if he was the starter since Week 1.
"One of our mottos in the quarterback room is to always stay ready and always stay prepared," Mendoza said. "All three of us prepared like the starter. We were all in there doing our routine, doing it together, watching film together, going over the game plan together, tweaking and seeing which adjustments we'd like to make."
Mendoza went above and beyond to make sure he was ready in case his number was called. During games, Mendoza stood hip-to-hip with Sullivan. He wore his helmet while relaying the calls to Sullivan as delivered through the helmet communication device.
Sullivan said Mendoza became more comfortable rattling off plays and helped make in-game adjustments on the sideline with Cousins and O'Connell. At practice, when the first-team offense was getting reps, Mendoza was off to the side with Sullivan working on his footwork, pocket management and timing.
Playing with the scout team in practice, Mendoza impressed the coaching staff with the tight-window throws he made against the starting defense.
Sullivan said Mendoza also did a lot of extra work on his own. At night, Sullivan said Mendoza would be on the indoor practice field at the team's training facility with the game script on his phone. Mendoza would visualize the play and call it as he would in the huddle.
"He literally walks through the play and goes through what his reads [are], his pre-snap communication [and] footwork," Sullivan said. "His command of the offense, his ability to articulate the huddle calls [and] communicate at the line of scrimmage, has improved consistently. It's certainly credit to him."
Sullivan saw Mendoza's training come together in his NFL debut in Week 5's loss to the New England Patriots. The game was out of reach, but New England didn't take it easy on Mendoza.
The Patriots pressured Mendoza on 55.6% of his dropbacks, and he didn't flinch. He looked calmer and felt more in control of the offense compared with the preseason. Mendoza completed 6 of 8 passes for 48 yards during the Raiders' final possession.
"It's kind of hard to come off the bench at the end to get a feel for the game, and how they're rushing and how your offense is blocking, and he handled it like a champ," tight end Ian Thomas told ESPN. "I don't think anything different this upcoming week. He'll do the same thing."
Mendoza is not walking into a perfect situation. Sure, Brock Bowers has been one of the league's best tight ends. But the Raiders have lacked consistent production from their wide receivers outside of Tucker. The speedy wideout has 33 catches for 529 yards, while the rest of the receivers have 33 combined catches for 347 yards. Las Vegas has struggled to run the ball. On top of that, the defense has allowed opponents to score with ease over the past six weeks.
Mendoza, on the other hand, has been comfortable playing in difficult situations, dating back to his time at Christopher Columbus High School in Miami. During his senior season in 2021, Mendoza had to lead a young team that featured four new starters on the offensive line.
His former coach Dave Dunn said that was Mendoza's best season from a leadership standpoint because the team struggled in pass protection and didn't have the offensive weapons that it did in previous years. Dunn said Mendoza never complained and rallied the team to make a trip to the state semifinals.
"He was taking the brunt of the pass rush, and there were times when we couldn't throw it as we did in the past, but you could never tell in his demeanor that he was upset," Dunn told ESPN. "All he did was lead the team."
As a rookie, Mendoza doesn't have the knowledge that Cousins possesses from 15 years in the NFL. Tucker told ESPN that Mendoza, however, "has a different element to his game" that can help the Raiders. That element is Mendoza's mobility.
Mendoza's speed is not his strong suit by any means. Nonetheless, he can use his legs when necessary to escape pressure and extend plays.
"He's young. He will probably get out and scramble or whatever it is," Tucker said. "We always say, any guy that hasn't had a bunch of snaps, they got some fresh legs, so they're going to be out there running fast."
Mendoza will also allow Kubiak to incorporate more designed rollouts into the game plan. When Kubiak was the offensive coordinator for the Seahawks last season, starting quarterback Sam Darnold had a designed rollout rate of 11%. On designed rollouts, Darnold completed 42 of 56 passes (75%) for 656 yards, eight touchdowns and an interception.
In Las Vegas, Kubiak used designed rollouts on only 0.05% of Cousins' dropbacks. The expectation is for that number to increase with Mendoza under center.
"[Mendoza] brings his own unique things, and yes, he's a young man with some juice in his legs, and he's got a lot of talent," Kubiak said. "But in this game on Sunday, it's going to be about way more than his physical talent. It's going to be about his leadership, his knowledge of the offense [and] his ability to read defense."
The Raiders believe in Mendoza. At the same time, the rest of the team will have to do its part to ensure Mendoza's transition into the starting role is smooth. The Raiders can do that by fixing the run game, which has seemed like a tall task all season. But if they can establish a consistent rushing attack in the final eight games, that should take some pressure off Mendoza.
Based on what Mendoza showed in the preseason and his short playing time against New England, he's going to target the wide receivers quite a bit. That means Las Vegas will need more from its wideouts, especially against Seattle.
Tight ends Bowers and Michael Mayer have been relied on heavily in the passing game. Seattle will try to limit both players as much as possible, taking away opportunities in the middle of the field. Second-year safety Nick Emmanwori will most likely spend a lot of time matching up against Mayer. Last week, Emmanwori matched up against Arizona's star tight end Trey McBride eight times and didn't allow a catch on one target.
Meanwhile, cornerback Devon Witherspoon could be asked to defend Bowers since the All-Pro pass catcher spends most of his time lining up on the outside. In 52 coverage snaps against tight ends, Witherspoon has allowed seven catches for 36 yards and a passer rating of 68.8 on 11 targets.
"Every week in the NFL is tough, and this is the best defense in the NFL," Kubiak said. "Again, he's got to do his job and not worry about a whole lot else. Everybody does their one-eleventh, and everyone around him elevates their play."
O'Connell has made a "big attempt" to ensure Mendoza doesn't make his starting debut bigger than it has to be. Understanding the nerves that come with making an NFL start, O'Connell has tried to take Mendoza's mind off football just a bit.
In the practices leading up to Sunday, O'Connell said he joked around with Mendoza, shoving him in between periods to ease the tension.
"He's super locked in on football, which is awesome," O'Connell said. "He's just trying to do his best. [I'm] looking forward to it."