04/20/26 12:48:00
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04/20 12:46 CDT Fernando Mendoza embraces the marathon draft process as he
embarks on his 1st step in NFL career
Fernando Mendoza embraces the marathon draft process as he embarks on his 1st
step in NFL career
By MICHAEL MAROT
AP Sports Writer
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) --- Some NFL draft prospects get worn out by the league's
marathon draft process.
Fernando Mendoza embraced it. He did the interviews, made the rounds and firmed
up his draft night plans with his trademark smile and positive attitude. Now
all he can do is wait to see what happens Thursday night.
The Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback and overwhelming favorite to be taken
No. 1 overall said Monday he's enjoyed each step along the path as he
anticipates starting the next chapter of his football journey --- whether it's
in Las Vegas backing up Kirk Cousins or going to some other team.
" It's been long, but it's been great because a job interview usually is a
couple of weeks or even a single day in the office, but this job interview has
been a couple of months," Mendoza told The Associated Press. "The teams know
everything about you, and that's been my favorite part. They can peel back the
layers and see the true you. It's been great to test my football IQ, my
football knowledge."
The Raiders --- or any of the three other teams he spoke to --- likely found
little to quibble with.
In fact, Mendoza and pharmaceutical company Pfizer announced Monday they had
formed a new partnership with the quarterback becoming a spokesman urging
people to get early cancer screenings. It seems a natural pairing given that he
has watched someone close to him battle cancer, his mother is still battling
multiple sclerosis and his father is a doctor.
Two commercials have been cut and are scheduled to air Thursday night, and
Mendoza said he expects this campaign, Every Breakthrough Matters, to expand,
potentially into other health battles.
Still, Mendoza's mind is mostly on football though he's not dropping any hints
about whether he knows what the Raiders are thinking.
While he's met three times with Las Vegas officials since leading the Indiana
Hoosiers to their first national title in mid-January, the Boston-born Mendoza
also met his boyhood favorite, Raiders minority owner Tom Brady, who got an
in-person look at Mendoza at the championship game.
He's also spoken with the New York Jets, Arizona Cardinals and Cleveland
Browns, who hold the second, third and sixth overall picks and could be in the
market for a new franchise quarterback.
But he also denied suggestions he's been studying a Las Vegas playbook,
explaining the rumors started after he sought help from former NFL quarterback
and quarterbacks coach Brian Griese to get a head start on some elements of
what he expects to see wherever he lands. Mendoza and Griese attended the same
Miami high school --- Christopher Columbus --- decades apart.
"We knew each other and I reached out to him and said ?Hey, I've got to get
ready for this. I don't care what my Pro Day looks like, I just want to help my
guys on Pro Day and I want to be the best quarterback come September, can you
help me with this?'" Mendoza said. "He (played) in the West Coast offense so we
were able to install a lot of West Coast concepts, just general concepts and
under center concepts every single team runs."
But Mendoza also wants to keep Thursday night low key.
Instead of traveling to Pittsburgh where the draft will be held, he wants to
spend some time completing this journey with those who helped him reach this
point, including his younger brother, Alberto. They'll all be surrounding
Fernando Mendoza in Miami on Thursday night.
"I've done so much traveling this year, it's a lot easier for my mom and her
health is at the forefront," Mendoza said. "We need to hop on a plane the next
day for whatever team drafts me and to be there with the village that's poured
into me --- friends, family, coaches, mentors --- to be there with all of them
and to share the start of this NFL journey, it's going to create the best
memory for our family."
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