Fernando Mendoza is here, and he’s just as advertised. The Las Vegas Raiders fans have been waiting for the day to watch the No. 1 pick sling the pigskin, and they were not disappointed when the wait was over. In his preseason debut, he found the end zone for his first NFL touchdown. PFN’s staff took to social media to react to Mendoza’s great start.
PFN Reacts to Mendoza’s First NFL Action
Mendoza will have sky-high expectations for his career, but for now, he’s going to have to take his career one drive at a time. In his first NFL game, even though it was preseason, he put together a solid performance, capping off a nice drive with a touchdown pass to Jack Bech.
“Fernando Mendoza is making some really nice throws in his preseason debut. There’s plenty to be excited about if you’re a Raiders fan,” said PFN’s Alex Kennedy.
Kirk Cousins started the game for Las Vegas and notched a touchdown drive of his own. It’s an interesting conversation for the Raiders as to who should start at quarterback. But PFN’s Ryan Gosling sees one simple answer.
“Why is there even a QB controversy in Vegas? Start Mendoza and move on,” said Gosling.
Cousins carries over a decade of NFL experience, but Mendoza is the face of the franchise, and looks like he could be the real deal already. If the rookie looks ready, it’s hard to leave him on the bench.
BE THE GM OF YOUR FAVORITE TEAM:PFN’s FREE NFL Mock Draft Simulator
“The first NFL (preseason) touchdown for Fernando Mendoza comes on a strong drive for the rookie QB. Nice velocity to get the ball in the narrowing window on the TD. Mendoza has looked accurate and on time,” wrote PFN’s Jacob Infante on X.
The touchdown is going to get a lot of the attention because scoring is essential to winning games, but the rest of his performance has been good, too.
PFN’s Ian Cummings broke down the best parts of Mendoza’s first NFL action and said, “It’s only preseason but Fernando Mendoza has looked really good in his first action. A little frenetic at times which is expected, but he’s: Diagnosing quickly pre-snap & anticipating breaks well, deciphering quickly off PA, and staying poised late in reps w/ pressure bearing.”
Mendoza’s best throw of the night came in his own territory as he zipped the ball through a tight window of three defenders for a first down.
PREDICT THE NFL SEASON:PFN’s FREE NFL Playoff Predictor
“Never a bad time for a good play. We will see when the kid gets a real chance, but the idea of adding a franchise QB to a talented core can work (even if it kinda hasn’t, for the Falcons). Mendoza should get real reps this year, and if they can get a WR1, 2027 could be interesting,”added PFN’s Kyle Soppe.
“Breaking News: No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza is good at football,” said PFN’s Brandon Astreicher to show that the Raiders star is expected to perform as he did against the Cardinals due to his draft position.
Mendoza’s 2025 season was special, bringing a national championship to Indiana. He finished with a 93.3 grade in PFN’s CFB QB Impact Metric, 41 passing touchdowns (led FBS), and a 72.0% completion percentage. He was dominant en route to one of the craziest championship feats in college football.
Ironically, Bech has caught touchdowns from two Indiana quarterbacks, but he never played for Indiana.
“Jack Bech has now caught touchdown passes from the previous Indiana quarterback and the current Indiana quarterback and neither while playing for Indiana,” said PFN’s Oliver Hodgkinson.
Mendoza has the world in his hands right now, and the NFL community is ready for him to take the league by storm. Although it’s still a real possibility that he isn’t starting for Las Vegas in Week 1, Mendoza is showing he will be ready soon. It’s not a surprise, but to those who didn’t know, the former Indiana star can play.
The Raiders are going to be an offense worth keeping tabs on, whether Mendoza is on the field or off. Ashton Jeanty and Brock Bowers are an elite duo, and when the rookie quarterback does get the opportunity to take the field with them, it’s going to be must-watch entertainment and should result in more wins than Raiders fans have seen in a little while.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.