After seeing Fernando Mendoza in preseason action, one former NFL player has made a bold comparison between the Raiders quarterback and an NFL icon.
The ex-Indiana star was not flawless in the Raiders’ first two preseason games, but he did enough to remind Kurt Benkert of Philip Rivers.
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Fernando Mendoza Draws High Praise From Former NFL Quarterback
Mendoza started the second preseason game against the Houston Texans on Thursday. Playing the entire first half against a stingy Texans defense, Mendoza completed 8 of 15 passes for 86 yards and threw a costly pick-six early on, missing a linebacker lurking underneath.
He settled down after a pep talk from Maxx Crosby, moving the offense on a couple of drives before halftime, when Las Vegas trailed 20-3. It wasn’t nearly as sharp as his first preseason outing against Arizona, where he went 10-of-16 for 97 yards and a touchdown.
Rough patches aside, Benkert clearly likes what he sees from the No. 1 overall pick, enough to make a lofty comparison: “Mendoza has some Philip Rivers in his throwing motion.”
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That’s no small compliment. Rivers played 18 seasons in the NFL, spending most of his career with the Chargers, and ranked sixth all-time in passing yards and touchdowns. He’s also commonly viewed as one of the greatest quarterbacks never to reach a Super Bowl.
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Benkert has been a long-time fan of Mendoza, though his praise hasn’t always come without conditions. Back in January, before the draft, Benkert offered a much more detailed breakdown of Mendoza’s game.
He called him “an operator,” someone efficient and accurate who can extend plays with his legs “just enough” to move the chains. But he also made it clear he didn’t think Mendoza alone could turn around a Raiders team competing in a loaded AFC West.
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Benkert compared him to a mix of Sam Darnold and Jared Goff at the time, adding that in the right situation, Mendoza could develop into “a great point guard-type of player,” maybe even something close to Drew Brees if everything breaks right.
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Still, he argued the value of the top overall pick was better spent on a bigger athletic upside, or even traded away entirely, rather than banking on a rookie quarterback to fix a roster that needs more immediate help.
For now, Mendoza isn’t being handed the keys to the franchise. Kirk Cousins is expected to start ahead of him this season after signing with Las Vegas following a rocky 2025 campaign in Atlanta, where he threw for just 1,721 yards with 10 touchdowns and 5 interceptions, posting a 47.6 QBR.
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The NFL veteran ranked 24th out of 38 quarterbacks in Pro Football Network’s Quarterback Impact Ratings, a middling mark but still well ahead of the man he’s replacing in the starting lineup conversation.
Geno Smith, who played 15 games for the Raiders last season, finished 35th out of 38 in that same PFN metric, completing 67.4 percent of his passes for 3,025 yards with 19 touchdowns against 17 interceptions while absorbing 55 sacks.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.
