Fernando Mendoza’s Nfl Draft Prep Has Nfc West Film Focus

In the weeks leading up to the NFL draft, Fernando Mendoza’s film watching has understandably concentrated around the NFC West.

His soon-to-be head coach, Klint Kubiak of the Las Vegas Raiders – widely expected to select Mendoza first overall April 23 – was the offensive coordinator of the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks last season. But Mendoza has also studied a lot of Brock Purdy, the San Francisco 49ers’ quarterback coached by Kyle Shanahan.

The Shanahan-Kubiak coaching tree remains intertwined and in its second generation. Throw in some Matthew Stafford, the Los Angeles Rams’ quarterback, and it’s been a trifecta of West Coast – strategically and geographically – offense for the Mendoza.

“I just like how they are very efficient in their system,” Mendoza told USA TODAY Sports.

Mendoza likened the signal-callers to point guards and referred to Stafford as a future Hall of Famer. He doesn’t want to be a carbon copy, he added, and said that they were just three of the many quarterbacks he’s studied.

Mendoza confessed at his pro day April 1 that he will have to be more comfortable playing under center in the NFL and that it will be an adjustment for him. On April 2, the Raiders signed veteran Kirk Cousins, ostensibly to enter the 2026 season as Las Vegas’ starter and eliminate the pressure on Mendoza to learn an offense and play at a high level his rookie season.

More: With Kirk Cousins signing, Raiders stare into their organizational abyss

In the offenses that he mentioned, however, Mendoza noticed some overlapping tendencies with the college concepts he learned at Cal and Indiana, where he won the 2025 national championship and Heisman Trophy.

“I think it’s a great learning tool because you never know where you’re gonna go in the NFL draft,” Mendoza said. “However, learning an offense and prepping yourself for that and that process, I think, is very valuable.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fernando Mendoza’s NFL draft prep focusing on NFC West QBs