Raiders QB Fernando Mendoza sees himself as Tom Brady 'underdog' despite different draft experiences

The Las Vegas Raiders were finally able to make the obvious a reality when they officially selected Indiana Hoosiers star quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the first overall pick of the 2026 NFL Draft. 

Roughly 26 years ago, the New England Patriots grabbed signal-caller and current Raiders minority owner Tom Brady with the 199th pick of the draft. While their springtime experiences went much differently, Mendoza nevertheless sees a bit of Brady in himself. 

Fernando Mendoza believes he's not a top-32 quarterback?

"I believe I'm still the underdog," Mendoza said after he was drafted, per Ryan McFadden of ESPN. "Although the draft was today, once I got drafted, I'm now part of the NFL, and I can tell you right now I am not one out of 32 -- although I was picked today one out of 32 -- I'm not one out of 32 quarterbacks at this moment. So I need to work every single day possible, because I'm on the bottom of the totem pole."

Mendoza previously noted that Brady was "the perfect guy to look up to" over the years, as TB12 wasn't seen as the "fastest" or "strongest" player when he entered the league. Of course, Brady became a seven-time Super Bowl champion and is now seen as the GOAT of his position. 

Mendoza hopes to follow in Brady's footsteps while having the living legend as a boss. 

Fernando Mendoza is like Tom Brady in this way

Mendoza may not possess elite physical traits, but he developed a reputation in college for having "a maniacal work ethic" similar to Brady's. According to Sam Warren of The Athletic, Raiders general manager John Spytek mentioned on Thursday that Mendoza is "a football junkie." 

"There’s a lot of players — it probably would astound you — that actually don’t watch a lot of football, but I’ve kind of found that the best ones are always watching football," Spytek added. 

Conversations about whether or not Las Vegas should at least let Mendoza compete with veteran Kirk Cousins for the QB1 job this summer can be punted down the road heading into the final weekend of April. For now, Spytek and Brady can enjoy some victory laps after landing who they hope will one day become a franchise savior for the Raiders.