Raiders' Mendoza takes more under‑center snaps
- Raiders rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza spent his first Las Vegas minicamp working mostly from under center, a sharp break from his shotgun-heavy college game. - Mendoza said he took only five under-center snaps across three college seasons, and called the early install a “firehose” as footwork changed. - It matters because Klint Kubiak’s offense leans on play-action timing, and that means Mendoza’s NFL transition starts with mechanics.
Quarterback development is the story here — not arm strength, not highlight throws, but the boring-looking footwork that decides whether an offense can actually run on time. Fernando Mendoza arrived in Las Vegas as the Raiders’ No. 1 pick after a huge college career, but his first rookie minicamp exposed the first real NFL translation problem. He played mostly from shotgun at Cal and Indiana. Klint Kubiak’s offense does not live there. So the Raiders immediately put Mendoza under center and started rebuilding part of his game from the ground up. ### Why is under center such a big deal? Taking a snap under center sounds minor until you remember how much it changes. The quarterback has to handle the exchange cleanly, open the right way, hit the right depth on drops, turn his back on play-action fakes, then snap back into the throw on rhythm. In shotgun, a lot of that spacing is already given to you ### What changed for Mendoza this week? The Raiders did not ease him into it. During the media-viewing portion of rookie minicamp, Mendoza was primarily taking snaps under center, and he said afterward that he had already taken more of those snaps in camp than he had in all three of his college seasons combined. That is a huge shift for a quarterback who basically spent his college life starting plays from shotgun depth. ### How rare was this in college? Very rare. Multiple reports pegged the number at five under-center snaps over three college seasons. That is almost nothing for a quarterback about to enter a pro system built around center-quarterback timing. It also explains why the Raiders are treating this as a core developmental project right away instead of some small cleanup detail for training camp. ### Why would Kubiak care so much? Because this offense is built to make the run game and pass game look married. Kubiak comes from a coaching tree that leans on play-action, bootlegs, and timing concepts that work best when the quarterback can sell the run from under center. The whole point is bite. ### What did Mendoza say the hard part is? He zeroed in on the footwork. Mendoza said the adjustment is getting the added footwork down and making sure he gets enough depth after the snap instead of just catching the ball in shotgun and seeing the field immediately. He also described the install as coming at him like a “firehose,” which is exactly what you would expect when a rookie is learning terminology, mechanics, and teammates all at once. ### Is this a red flag? Not really — basically the opposite. This is what rookie minicamp is for. The Raiders are identifying the one college habit that does not transfer cleanly and attacking it immediately. Mendoza is not being asked to win the job in May. He is being asked to build a foundation that lets the rest of the offense open up by summer and, eventually, by Week 1. ### Why does this matter beyond one drill? Because quarterback transitions usually fail in ordinary places, not dramatic ones. Everyone notices arm talent. Fewer people notice a sloppy mesh point, a shallow drop, or a play-action fake that never makes the defense bite. But those are the details that separate “great college passer” from “quarterback who can run an NFL offense.” Mendoza’s first real pro lesson is that the league starts with your feet. ### Bottom line The Raiders did not spend rookie minicamp showing off Fernando Mendoza’s ceiling. They started with his floor. If he gets comfortable under center, Kubiak can call the offense he actually wants to call. If that part drags, everything else drags with it.
