Raiders' Mendoza earns praise from Kubiak and Texans in camp

The No.1 overall pick spent a significant part of Tuesday's joint practice against the Houston Texans working ahead of Kirk Cousins with the Raiders' first team.

It wasn't a perfect day by any means, but the Heisman winner showed enough promise to impress his head coach and even his opponents.

Mendoza's day with the ones

Mendoza's highlight came early, a tight-window fastball to Brock Bowers that split two defenders down the middle of the field.

"Brock Bowers was Brock Bowers, no explanation needed there," Mendoza said, preferring to praise the talented tight end rather than take credit himself.

"But at the same time, football is football, and you make your read and take what the defense gives you. And you can reap the rewards or reap the negative consequences," he continued.

The negative consequences he spoke of came later, on a red-zone interception that Texans' safety Jalen Pitre took the other way.

What Mendoza said about his performance

Mendoza called it a "positive day" overall, but retracted his comment about wishing he had certain plays back upon realising they are vital to his learning process.

Klint Kubiak came away impressed

Kubiak had all but promised this was coming and stuck to the plan.

"I wanted to see him going against the Texans' ones," Kubiak said. "That was our plan all along. I thought he did some good things."

Considering Houston's defense is coming off a season in which they ranked 2nd in points allowed and 1st in yards allowed, even modest praise speaks volumes.

Texans heap praise on Mendoza

Talented Houston edge rusher Will Anderson saw enough to sell him on Mendoza's bright future.

Speaking of his respect for the 22-year-old gunslinger and praising his energy and team spirit, Anderson predicted that Mendoza is "going to be a really great quarterback."

Receiving an endorsement from one of the best defensive players in the league means plenty, especially at this early stage in Mendoza's journey.

Texans' quarterback C.J. Stroud also singled Mendoza out for praise, telling reporters that he believes "he'll have a lot of success in the league."

Mariucci likes where Mendoza landed

Steve Mariucci knows a thing or two about quarterbacks, having coached the position at the college level before taking on the role of offensive coordinator for the California Golden Bears.

He then served as the Green Bay Packers' quarterback coach, after which he became head coach of the San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions for a combined nine years.

"I think we're all pretty much fans of Fernando Mendoza from Indiana," he told DAZN News, courtesy of casino.org.

"He's had so much success with the Heisman Trophy and the national championship."

Mariucci went on to explain that Mendoza is in the perfect situation, with a veteran quarterback to learn from on a team going places.

"He'll be on a team that's building, getting stronger, and trying to get back up with the rest of that division.

"It will be interesting to see when they play him, but it's all about his readiness and development, which he'll get at the Raiders."

What's next for Mendoza?

Kenneth Richmond / Staff

Whether the Raiders trot the starters back out Thursday night against Houston is still up in the air; Kubiak wouldn't commit either way.

What isn't in doubt is how many more snaps Mendoza's getting the rest of the way: "He's going to get lots of reps this preseason," Kubiak said.

While we're still in the infancy of Mendoza's career, all the roads lead to him taking over the reins sooner rather than later.

And if the early indications are anything to go by, he'll not only be prepared for his moment in the sun, but he'll also thrive.

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