RAIDERS SQUAD SHOW: KIRK COUSINS signs with the RAIDERS, will the RAIDERS still draft MENDOZA?

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Hey, what's up, Raider Nation?

So what we thought actually happened, the Raider signed Kirk Cousins to a deal.

And I want to know if you like that.

You like that?

I see what you did there, Centel.

That was cute, right?

Yes.

Kirk Cousins is in the mix.

Fernando Bendoza had his pro day.

We're going to sum it up, talk about it, break it down, all that on the Raider Squad

show.

Let's get it.

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Now we are going to be talking about our favorite prospects in the NFL draft, and specifically

rounds two and three, will the Raiders be able to get some of our favorite prospect

that we think would be a good fit.

We'll get into that in that third segment.

We're also going to be talking about Fernando Mendoza's pro day because it's been a couple

of days since we did the squad show.

We actually did the show just before his pro day.

So we're going to break down just a few things that we liked and what we thought.

But I think the biggest news came yesterday.

And it's not that I was surprised.

I think it was just the timing of it right after the pro day.

That's what I didn't really expect.

But Kirk Cousins signed a five year $172 million deal, essentially, though, it's a one year

deal with fully guaranteed $20 million.

So the way that it's broken down is that the Falcons are paying $8.7 million this season.

The Raiders are covering that $1.3 million plus a $10 million guaranteed roster bonus

in 2027.

And I always like to take a look at the guaranteed money.

I saw that five year deal announced like, okay, this has to be broken down a little bit

better.

But what were your thoughts on the announcement for the Raiders signing current cousin and

the deal that they got him on?

Well, look, I wasn't surprised.

There was something that we've talked about quite a bit.

There's been a lot of debate back and forth where they're going to sign a veteran quarterback

where they're not going to sign one.

And I've been, as a matter of fact, from day one, the Kirk Cousins and my mind was the

best guy for the job.

And there's many reasons for that.

And that's not me, you know, 2D my own horn.

I just think it made the most sense because it was familiarity with Clint Kubiak, right?

A guy that doesn't have to really learn his system.

I mean, think about this as much as we talk about his time that he spent with Clint Kubiak

in Minnesota for the three years, Kubiak was the quarterback coach for two years.

And then also the office coordinator for one year and Kirk Cousins played really well.

Remember, he was drafted to Washington and Mike Shanahan was the head coach then.

So the Kubiak principles are right there as well.

So he's basically been in this system for the majority of his career, right?

And so that's why to me, it made all the sense in the world that this would be the guy

that comes in plus he was getting released from Atlanta.

And so they were going to pay a lot of the money like you just broke down.

They're paying them 8.7 million this year where the writer's only paying them 1.3.

That's the league minimum.

That's the ventured minimum right there.

So that's a really good deal.

And then they're giving them $10 million for next year, just a little bit of a cherry on top.

If he's on the roster great, if he's not, then he takes his $10 million and he rolls.

I mean, it is what it is.

I think it's a great deal.

I think it takes the pressure off Fernando Mendoza.

The timing, I think, was excellent by the writers because in fact,

they didn't have to sit there and ask Fernando Mendoza about Kirk Cousins coming in.

You know, like, hey, well, what do you think?

They just signed a feather and quarterback at his pro day because all eyes were on Fernando

at the pro day.

So they wait till afterwards, they may get official, right?

And they haven't quite made it official yet.

It hasn't been any statement put out by the writers, but we know, you know,

the parameters and the numbers already.

But it just, it makes it easier on the young man.

And that's all they've been trying to do this whole time is try to make it easier on him.

Try to make his transition from college to the NFL a smoother transition.

And that's all that we asked any team to do.

And for the first time in a long time, I know a lot of people don't like it because they want to see

Fernando Mendoza play day one.

And oh, by the way, he still might, right, depending on what he goes out there and earns.

But for the first time in a long time, the writers are making a lot of really good decisions

and doing what really good organization is doing.

And I think the summer writer nation, they're just, they can't, they can't handle it because

they're not used to it.

Right?

It's like, wait, what's going on here?

But everything that they're doing has made sense.

And I posed this, you know, question, and I'm going to talk about it later on today on

my, on my radio show.

I read an issue radio.

How many moves have they made that I've really surprised you or shocked you?

Right?

I mean, they've told you they've rolled the blueprint out the whole time.

They've said what they wanted to do and they've gone and done it like that there hasn't been

any moves that they've made outside of maybe not resigning Daniel Carlson that you look

at.

And you're like, Oh, I didn't see that coming.

Like honestly, I mean, think about it like what, what was it that they did that we didn't

see coming?

It's the plan has been there.

The blueprint's been rolled out.

They're finally for once showing that they have a plan.

They're sticky to the plan.

And I think that right now they're having a great off season now, you know, be careful

but winning the off season because we know how that goes.

But they're finally, in my opinion, for the first time in a long time, making some really

good decisions.

Yeah.

And, you know, I don't think anyone was really surprised that they went and signed Kurt

Cousins because of that relationship that he has with Clint Kubiak.

And if you think about it, he had his best season under Clint Kubiak also really quickly

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Now, Q, it's kind of interesting because I actually really like the deal because essentially

it is that one year deal.

It is a bridge quarterback and Kurt Cousins is choosing to be that guy to a Fernando

Mendoza.

So that's the difference in terms of what happened in Atlanta when they kind of just let's

be serious.

They did him dirty.

They did him dirty in Atlanta.

And Kurt Cousins is a guy that he can still ball.

I guess what I was kind of unsure about, and I think it's a good deal.

I like that they went and got Kurt Cousins a very good veteran quarterback, but we know

that Kurt still wants to be that guy, but he knows he's going to be like a mentor to

Fernando Mendoza.

My question to you though is because they got Kurt Cousins on this one year deal, and

I have to ask this because I think we know we're going to draft Fernando Mendoza, but

just in terms of the fact that we know that he could actually play really well maybe in

this radar system.

Right.

And they're putting together the pieces.

I mean, they've added to the old line, they got one of the best editions that they

could.

They're going to go into the draft.

They already have pieces like an ash and gente in a Brock Fowers.

And you think about drafting a quarterback number one overall, and usually the NFL has

changed.

They're not usually not sitting for about a year.

So it's not really like, you know, Aaron Rodgers to bet far.

So that hasn't happened in a little minute.

Would you be upset or concerned if Fernando Mendoza set up the whole entire year?

And do you kind of expect that?

I don't expect him to sit out the whole year.

I just think that he's a better quarterback than that, and I think that he'll actually

prove that he deserves to be on the field sooner than than rather than later.

But the, I mean, there's a couple of elements here now.

If the Raiders are going out there and Kurt Cousins is leading them to a bunch of wins,

and I'm going to ride with with the hot hand, right?

I'm going to, I'm going to, I'm going to keep that party going, right?

And until he shows that he shouldn't be on the field, I'll keep him on the field.

But with that being said, Fernando Mendoza, as he mentioned at his pro day on Wednesday,

he's not worried about being the best quarterback in April.

He wants to be the best quarterback in September.

So there's no doubt about it.

He's going to do everything in his power and his ability to try to be out there and ready

for week one.

I know that he wants to play week one, which is a good thing.

You know, I mean, since when is it a bad thing that a player is hungry and is willing to

put in the work to get where he wants to be?

Like, that's the thing about it.

If you don't bring in a Kurt Cousins, you're telling Fernando Mendoza, hey, man, you're

the starter day one, right?

You're giving him the job.

You're not making him earn the job.

There's something to be said about earning the job and there's something to be said about

giving the job.

When you're giving the job, the sense of urgency is not there.

When you're giving the job, you don't feel like, hey, there's some guy nipping in my

heels that I better, you know, stay on my A game instead of, you know, getting on the

sticks.

You know, I mean, there's something to be said about that.

And I do believe with his work ethic that Fernando Mendoza has, he's going to go out

there and be the best version of himself.

I mean, if you saw the way that he did at his pro grade day, he skipped, he scripted

that.

That was his script, right?

Now, the him and the quarterback coach worked together.

And normally, if you watch a pro day or you go to a pro day, you'll see the quarterback

coach say, okay, we're going to run a nine to Cooper here.

All right.

You're up.

You're going to do this.

Well, it was Mendoza calling that out Elijah nine, you know, just boom, boom, boom, just

he was calling it out.

He didn't have a play sheet in front of him, right?

He didn't have that.

He was coming off the top of the dome.

So I've been talking about it since Indiana was still playing that Fernando Mendoza's

got up between the years.

Once again, he showed what he has between the years.

So he'll, he'll be able to pick up kubiaks offense.

He'll be able to pick up this playbook.

I have no doubt about that.

But again, this takes the pressure off of him, having to start day one.

There's a good chance that he could still start day one.

But having cut cousins in the mix is having insurance, right?

I say it all the time.

I don't even want to know what my deductible is in insurance because I never want to use

it, right?

I don't want to even know who my state farm insurance agent is or whoever it is, right?

I just, the guy I know is a guy in the commercial, right?

That's the guy I know, right?

And that's the only guy I want to know, right?

I don't want to, I don't want to be calling those guys up because that means that I don't

have to use my insurance.

If I don't have to use my insurance, that's great.

So that's the same thing the writers are doing.

They've got a guy that's a veteran in the mix.

He can go out there and play if need be.

And if not, then you've got a really good backup in the mix.

It's a win-win situation as far as I'm concerned.

Yeah.

But my only question is, if Kirk doesn't start, say Fernando Beatomo for week one, do you

think Kirk will have any feelings or feel some type of way of not starting?

Because right now, I think we're all assuming he's going to be starting week one.

That's just an assumption that we're having because I think they want to be really careful

with Fernando Mendoza.

And I think that's a good thing.

They don't want to just throw him out there behind the old line that is probably still gaining

chemistry.

There'll be some new pieces.

And they don't want to just throw him out there and, you know, have a cam word situation

where cam world was getting killed behind that old line.

So Kirk cousins is a guy that has experience.

But if Kirk doesn't start that week one, do you think there'll be any type of situation

where Kirk is feeling some way?

No, because he's going to go look at his bank account and realize that he just made

some more money, right?

And look, he's going to be a high paid backup if he doesn't start week one.

I do believe that he's going to start week one.

But that's just my belief in April, right?

I'll have a much better idea when we're out there at the facility and we're actually

watching training camp and seeing how the players react, right?

The other good thing about this is, and not too many people have talked about this, if

Fernando Mendoza is not QB1 in training camp, he's going to be going up against a really

good defense.

Right?

How many times is he going to be going up against the Raiders best defense in camp?

Not a bit, right?

I mean, I know that they go ones on ones, but they also go a lot of times, they'll go the

ones offense on the two's defense and the two's defense, you know, I guess they switch it

up quite a bit.

So he's going to get so much reps and he's going to be able to learn and see so many different

looks.

That's also a good thing.

But look, the biggest thing, and you said it already, Kirk cousins chose the Raiders.

It's not like the Raiders signed up to a big free agent deal like Atlanta did and then

also they went and drafted his replacement, you know, and didn't tell him.

We've been opening on us about this situation.

They've been talking to him about this for a while.

It's not like they went to his pro day on Wednesday and it was like, oh, we got to go

side of veteran.

They didn't do that.

They've been talking to Kirk cousins for quite a while.

So this is not something that just came out of left field.

It's been going on and they just, you know, completed the mission on yesterday.

So that's, again, I think it's just a win-win situation.

This team is making a lot of really good decisions.

I know that, you know, a lot of times the number one overall quarterback, I know that they

start right away, but they don't have to.

There's nowhere in the NFL rules that's like, well, you drafted a quarterback.

Number one, you have to play them.

They're playing the long game here.

They're not looking for the microwave success.

They're looking for, you know, the old fashioned put it in the oven, let that thing cook.

And then it's a great meal, right?

That's what they're trying to hook up and that's fine.

They've said that's again, going back to what I'm talking about when I said shock or

surprise by the moves that they made.

They've been telling us that that's what they were going to do.

Like we just choose not to listen, but John Spitec could set it.

Clint Kubiak has said it.

They all have said what they want to do.

I specifically asked Spitec at the combine.

Can you fast track this re rebuild because you have so many free agents?

He said, I'm not interested in that.

I'm interested in building this thing correctly, not, not quickly.

And he said that the day the peak arrow got fired and they had to, and he stepped to the podium.

He said, this is not going to be an overnight success.

This is not going to be the Patriots in the Super Bowl year one or Jacksonville turn around in

year one. He said that we just choose not to listen.

But he literally said that he think he knows this is going to take a little bit of time to build.

And he wants to do it that way so they can sustain success.

You know, and the way that they're building it, we heard that Tom Brady and Clint Kubiak both

believe that, you know, we don't want to throw a quarterback in there right away.

He's the most perfect quarterback that the Raiders could have to also teach a guy like

Fernandes Mendoza, this system that he's really good in.

My only question is, now you have a Kirk cousins, you have him signed to a deal.

We know it's essentially a one year deal, but you just for hypothetical reasons, because we have to do it.

We know that they're going to take Fernandes Mendoza for 99.9% sure.

But do you think this also sues the Raiders from not taking Mendoza?

And I only say this because if you believe, because Kirk cousins is a starter in this league.

Like I do believe that he's a quarterback that can start in this league.

So if you had any type of doubt in Fernandes Mendoza being that guy,

because we know he's not going to be a Peyton Manning or Andrew Luck, like a generational talent,

but he is a very, very good quarterback that you can put in the system, plug and play guy,

put pieces around him, he'll be very successful.

So if you are not completely sure about Fernandes Mendoza and I'm using air quotes,

if you're listening to this, there is, you know, the draft next year, the quarterback draft.

And you have Kirk cousins, do you maybe think about possibly trading that pick,

getting a haul for that first overall pick and then using Kirk cousins for a year,

and then going to get your quarterback in the draft.

Is that even a possibility that runs through your mind?

No, not at all.

Not at all.

I mean, look, it all sounds good in theory.

Oh, you can do this.

You can get a lot of more draft capital.

And then you can go and get your quarterback next year and a quarterback rich draft.

But every year we've heard it's going to be a quarterback rich draft and it's not, right?

You have an opportunity to get your guy right now.

There's no reason to dance around.

There's no reason to try to, you know, you know, play the, you know, it's like,

it's like getting out while you're ahead, right?

Like I like to play triple double diamonds all the time at the casino and sometimes I get up

and then I'm like, well, you know, if I hit one more time, then I'll really be up.

And that's usually when I, I lose, right?

And so I mean, at some point you just, you know, you cash out while you're, while you're ahead,

right now the rate is our head.

They made a lot of really good decisions this off season.

They have the number one overall pick.

They control the draft, right?

And so yeah, you have your quarterback.

And I don't care if it's a quarterback rich draft or not, right?

You go and get your guy.

He's a guy that's very cut cousins like.

He's a guy that I'm sure Tom Brady's going to be ready to mentor and really coach up.

Yeah, there's no question in my mind what they're going to do with that.

Number one overall pick on April 23rd.

No question at all.

Now you want to talk about shocked and surprised.

If something, for some reason, anything but Fernando Mendoza comes out of Roger Cadill's mouth

when he steps to the podium on the open up the draft, I would, I would, I would, I would

be floored and I'll be there to, to be in that situation.

So I'm sure that's not going to happen.

But that would floor me if that was the case.

Yeah, I don't think the Raiders have been treated way the number one overall pick.

But just for reasons because there were, there was a conversation happening online on Twitter.

Because people were scared when they saw that five year deal.

But it was broken down where it was essentially that one year deal.

So I just let you know how silly the money is in the NFL and what contracts look like.

And like you said, I always pay attention to the guaranteed money.

That's all that matters, right?

Those that contract five years, when I first saw that, that break down from

Sheffield, I thought, oh, he, he missed, you know, he wrote something wrong, right?

And because there's no way that that's the kind of deal that they were signing a court

cousin's up for.

But the way that they did the math, the way that they did the gymnastics, right?

A couple club option years, two years, 80 million dollars.

That's basically a ego number for the agent.

Look, this is what I did for my client.

Oh, that's great.

But this is what you really got them.

You got them $20 million and only $11.3 million is what the Raiders are actually paying.

The Falcons are paying to other 8.7.

So when you break it down like that, I mean, yeah, okay, great job by the agent.

He's got Kirk Cousins, all the money in the world.

But yeah, it's, it's not that kind of a number that Adam Sheffield put out.

Yeah, no surprise.

The Raiders are setting up Fernando Mendoza to be extremely successful as the guy for

the lost Vegas Raiders and Kirk Cousins is going to be a great bridge quarterback.

And if he gets hot, the Raiders can roll with him.

But I do think that the Raiders are going to see Fernando Mendoza start at some

point of the season, this upcoming season.

So if you're going to be asking us any questions and comments enough,

fourth and final segment, and you want to ask more questions about Fernando Mendoza.

Get them into the chat right now.

We're going to take a quick break on the other side.

We're going to break down Fernando Mendoza's pro day.

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You know, before we did this show on Wednesday,

Q, and you talked a little bit about Fernando Mendoza's pro day.

One thing that I really liked about it is that he did script it really well.

He scripted it for himself.

And when you think about his pro day,

it wasn't like other pro days in terms of,

I thought I went by really, really quickly, which was, yeah,

and I was like, it's already done.

I'm sitting there watching this one NFL network.

It was 10 a.m. on the West Coast.

Everybody was there.

I love the fact that it was on the NFL network.

And the accuracy was probably one of the biggest headlines.

He went 53 for 56 in terms of completions.

He started with 23 straight completions.

And there was only like one really,

there was only like one real miss one over throwing.

Yes, exactly.

And those two drops are definitely not his, his fault.

But what were your thoughts on what was put together for Fernando Mendoza,

not only to shine, but he helped his teammates shine as well.

Yeah, no, he did.

It was a really good pro day.

I love the way that he put it together.

Like you said, he really showcased his teammates.

He threw 56 passes in 20 minutes.

I mean, I think about that.

He went really quickly.

Like you said, it was over fast.

That was intentional.

I talked to Red Lewis yesterday from the NFL network on my radio show.

And he was there in attendance.

And he got to spend some time with Fernando afterwards.

And he said, Q, his size, he's, he's, he's bulked up.

His lower base is a little bit bigger.

And they wanted to showcase that, the, you know, the endurance and, you know,

and just being in really good shape, he had that.

And that's why they was so intentional to go quick, quick, quick.

And he said, Q, you wouldn't believe it.

His size is, is the exact same measurements right now as Josh Allen.

So think about that.

Josh Allen, that's, that's who Fernando Mendoza, his size is right now.

You know, I'm not saying he's Josh Allen.

Like, I don't want to get that twisted.

I know the website that'll write that real quick.

But that's not the case.

I didn't say that he just is his body type.

His, his size is similar to Josh Allen.

That was what Rhett was, was talking about.

He kept saying that that's why they intentionally went with a really quick,

fast paced, you know, you know, throwing session 56 passes in 20 minutes.

Also, the fact that he had nine guys that he was able to showcase, right?

So there was always a guy that was available, but it was his guys.

It's not like they went and, you know,

grabbed some, some wide receivers from the local, you know,

the, the, the, the other schools around there, whatever like that.

He had so many guys that were his own, they were able to hustle them up

and just get them in the mix.

And so that was all attention to detail.

Like I mentioned earlier, he didn't have a, a play sheet that he was going off

of. He wasn't throwing 20 passes, then taking a long break or whatever.

He wasn't doing any of that.

It was just, like I said, very intentional.

Very, as a matter of fact, even warming up, you know, he was, you could tell he

was locked in, he showcased what he can do under center with under centers.

Been one of the big questions that's been talked about because he didn't do

that there at Indiana.

So he was doing a lot of that to show that, hey, that's what I'm working on.

He's been working with Brian Greacy on the Raiders playbook.

All right. So there's, there's that.

So I mean, there's, there's a lot to like about what you saw.

And it just kind of, I think it checked the final box for anyone that had

any kind of questions about him.

I think it checked the final box.

I love watching the pro day even more excited about Mendoza.

I was like, this is the guy what I liked about him most during the pro days,

how focused and locked in he was from the beginning of it until the end.

And he's just been a pro's pro already.

I think that's the type of guy that you want leading a franchise is a guy like

Fernanda Mendoza.

Now, the one thing that he is, he's one of like the team's favorite teammates.

I think they have a group chat called Thank You Fernando.

That's how much they like him, which is really important.

Can there any other players during this pro day that released it out to you?

I mean, Omar Cooper, Jr.

I didn't even have to see him at the pro day.

I mean, that dude is an absolute stud.

I would love to see him fall to number 36.

But I know that that's not going to happen.

He's a first round talent.

I thought Serrat looked really good as well.

Right.

I mean, there's question about his speed.

But I know that his hands are really good.

They're running backs.

Right.

I mean, it's hard to feature running back there at a pro day.

I know that their running back black is actually going to come visit with the

raiders.

He wasn't a guy that was able to go to the combine.

You know, the the offense alignment, you know,

Kuggen, he's he's a he's a really good player.

He's a center.

Right.

I mean, I know he could play other guard positions, but he's a center and the

raiders currently don't need a center.

So I don't know how much interest they would have there in him unless they

see him as a guard.

And then they could, you know,

smooth him over to center at some stage of the game.

That Indiana team just had a lot of players, man.

I'm a big fan of the Angelo ponds.

He ran really well on the defense side of things.

I would love to see him in the mix.

I would say DB's win games.

I know he's not the biggest dude, but neither was a meek Robertson.

And I think that he could play that role in maybe even played at a higher level.

I would have no problem with them bringing in him.

I mean, there's a reason why they went, you know, 16 and 0 and won the national

championship.

They it's not like they only had one guy named Fernando Mendoza and the rest

were just scrubs.

I mean, they had a squad.

So yeah, any of those dudes, you get them in the mix, man.

You get some winners in the mix.

I'm fine with that.

And you know what?

I feel like Sarat was one of the big names during the NCAA championship.

And then played in the college playoff football.

The college playoff football championship.

And here's the thing.

I feel like for a guy like Sarat, even though people are saying that he's a speedy

guy, but just a little bit smaller.

I think that he might be a steal in this draft.

But everyone's talking about Cooper Junior right now.

Do you, if you had to pick between the two, his ceiling is higher.

I mean, if it was Sarat or Cooper, I'm definitely going Cooper because his,

like I said, his ceiling is higher.

I believe he's faster.

I want to say his hands are better.

That catch that he made against Penn State.

One, and I asked him at the combine.

I was like, did you think that ball was going to even get to you?

He's like, no, but once it did, I was like, well, I might as well catch it, right?

And then to be able to use the, the feet and get the feet down.

And look, he, that was a touchdown on Sunday.

That's what was impressive to me is that was not a Saturday cut touchdown.

That was a Sunday touchdown.

So I mean, the dude, I think he's going to just continue to grow and get even better.

Cooper is fantastic.

I would love to see him into the mix just because again, he's, you know,

the familiarity there with, with, with Fernando.

And then they already know each other's tendencies and everything.

That would just be one of those situations.

Like you see many of these different quarterbacks.

If you see teams go out and get their Y receiver.

But I mean, it's, it's not, I wouldn't say it's a priority.

So it's not something that the Raiders have to focus in on.

This is a deep Y receiver draft.

So I know that they can get other guys and, you know, especially with, with,

uh, Mendoza most likely not going to start day one.

I think it's going to be fine.

But if for some dumb reason, Cooper would have happened to fall to the second round.

I'd have no problem with the Raiders going to make it a move for.

So you do believe that he's going to be taken in the first round.

Maybe late first round.

So he may not be there for the 36th overall picked, which by the way,

we are going to be getting into the draft in the next segment.

In terms of Fernando Mendoza, I don't think we were really expecting him to go

there and make any mistakes.

You know, I feel like it was a chance for him just to prove what he could be like.

Dude, what do you like about him the most?

Like after we're seeing his pro day, after we see him when the national championship,

after we see him when the Heisman, after we see him beat multiple ranked top 25 teams,

like what are you looking for in terms of more from Fernando Mendoza?

Or have you seen it all and are you just completely sold at this point?

I mean, I'm completely sold, make no mistake about it.

But what I love about Mendoza is what he's got between the ears and his mentality.

Um, you know, I'm a guy that I say it all the time.

I'm not the most talented dude, but I'm not the guy that's not going to get out works.

Like you won't out work me.

I don't care who you are.

It's just not going to happen.

I don't have to be the most talented dude in the room.

And I feel like that that's the same mentality he has, right?

He knows that I have a lot of work to do.

And I'm going to go do that work, right?

He was asked, uh, Lewis Riddick asked him after the, the pro day, one of the,

what did you learn from Kurt Sigmetti?

And he said, don't get fat and happy.

Right.

Well, don't, you know, seriously, like, you know, hey, you have success.

That's great.

But don't take that success and take that praise.

And oh, Mendoza is going to be the number one overall pay.

He's a high-spin trophy winner.

And then get fat and happy and say, okay, this is, this is what it is.

I've made it.

No, no, no, you're just now getting there, right?

The journey is just now beginning.

It's not complete.

You haven't, you haven't arrived.

The NFL stands for not for long.

So to me, when he arrives in the league and when he gets his contract, it's not

going to be all right, done.

We're here.

No, now it's like, all right, let's get to work, right?

And that's why when he said, I'm not worried about being the best quarterback in April.

I'm not worried about throwing the ball 70 yards in the air and stuff that, you know,

he said, I wanted to showcase things that realistically happen in the game.

It's great to be able to have, you know, things like that.

Like, oh, he, he's able to throw the ball 70 yards from a knee, right?

But that doesn't happen in the game.

So he's like, that's great to have that.

But I'm trying to simulate what a game is going to look like and what I can do there.

And I'm trying to showcase my teammates.

I mean, his whole mentality is the right, is the right attitude.

It's the right approach.

It's the guy that you would feel comfortable with saying, Hey, here's the keys to my

organization.

I want you to be the face of the franchise.

I think everyone will feel confident that Fernando Mendoza will be that guy.

And he'll, he'll respect it.

He'll honor it and he'll treat it like it means something.

Right?

It's not going to be, you know, him running around Vegas and acting a fool.

Like he's going to understand his responsibilities.

He's going to understand his responsibilities to his family.

He's going to understand his responsibilities to his teammates and the

organization.

So yeah, I'm, I'm check, check, check, check all those boxes when it comes to

Fernando Mendoza.

I'm good.

Q, are you surprised at how much criticism Fernando Mendoza has taken?

Because I think he might be the most criticized quarterback coming into the

league.

That is points to be number one overall.

There's so many articles.

There's been so many articles put out like Fernando.

It shouldn't be the number one overall pick.

The Raiders should punt the pick.

And I don't remember this ever happening when it was Caleb Williams,

cam word, cam word came into a situation with the Titans where their

online was absolutely terrible as well.

Nobody was saying they need to trade that pick.

And I don't even think they were fully happy with cam word last season.

Like let's keep it real here.

So when you think about Fernando Mendoza and he's had way more success

in terms of cam word in college, if you really just think about what

Fernando Mendoza has accomplished, he came from Cal and he had success at Cal

that when he left Cal, they were really upset.

Goes to Indiana.

Indiana goes undefeated that that's crazy.

First off in college football, you know that you go undefeated, it's,

especially if you're not Alabama, let's be serious.

They had some good years there.

But I will say that and then you win the Heisman, you're beating teams like a

ranked Miami in Ohio State.

Like he's had such a good season.

Why do you think he's been so criticized up to this moment?

And do you think he may be the most criticized quarterback coming into an NFL

draft points to going number one overall?

Oh, no, I think that I think they're always, I think you're always trying to pull,

pull, you know, not pull, but like tear that guy down a little bit,

like find out all the words.

And especially this year because there's no one and two quarterback.

You know what I mean?

Like there's no Is it Mendoza?

Is it more?

Is it more?

Is it man?

It's none of that.

It's Mendoza.

So I think that everyone's trying to kind of peel apart his game and say what he

can't do as opposed to what he can do.

And I think that that's part of it.

But no, I mean, and it's funny because I thought that as well.

And then I remember going back and, you know, if you do it like a quick

Google search and just put like cam ward and, you know, Titans trade pit,

like there, there was articles out there about all the Titans to trade the

pick and they were sold on cam ward from the jump, right?

And so as much as to me, I didn't hear a lot of conversation about teams

not being ready for the certain, you know, player, unless they're like a generational

player, I think that that it has popped up more times than we actually realize.

So I mean, I just kind of take it with a grain of salt, you know, it's,

it's more, it's better when there's drama, apparently, you know, for the draft.

And there's no real drama here.

I mean, it's Fernando Mendoza and then everybody else.

I mean, the Thai Simpson drama was there for about 12 seconds.

And then that went away.

So now I just, I think it is, it is what it is.

And the Raiders will have their guy in less than three weeks and everything would be good.

It's interesting because you mentioned, like, you know, there's always drama

there that people like the drama.

And I don't even think they're the Thai Simpson thing was real.

I think that was all smoke.

I think it was just for content purposes, which sometimes I ask questions for

content purposes, of course.

But for Fernando Mendoza, you know, you talked about how he is going to be that guy.

The Raiders have also taken some criticism cue in terms of people saying he's going

to a situation that won't be the best for him.

How do you think the Raiders have handled everything since the end of last season

and the moves that they've made?

Do you feel like this is a situation that Fernando was coming into that is good

for him now?

And do you feel like they'll start giving the Raiders some credit, some credit for

building a situation that's better for Fernando Mendoza?

Or is that something that they have to see when the season starts week one?

No, I think a lot of people are starting to really give the Raiders some credit

for what they've been doing.

You know, I always pay attention to what's going on in the national scene.

Obviously doing a radio show on ESPN nationally.

Talk to a lot of people as well.

And a lot of people told me straight up, like I have to give the Raiders credit

for doing what they've done the way that they've handled this whole off season.

You know, again, I go back to the conversation of how you've been shocked

or surprised by the moves that they've made.

And I have to say no, because they've all made sense and they're all, you know,

and that might be the biggest shock is that they have all made sense, right?

Where that hasn't been what's going on in previous years.

But it's, it's like they put a plan together and they stuck to the plan, right?

They knew the offensive line was in a in a in shambles last year.

So they went out there and they addressed it.

They went out there and made, you know, Linderbaum, the highest paid center, you know,

every 81 million dollars fully guaranteed.

They gave them that on a three year deal.

That made sense, you know, and then that eliminates the conversation of, you know,

who's going to be the center?

Who's going to be the guard?

All right, that's your guy.

That's your anchor.

Now you're filling in the pieces around it.

You know, you have Colton Miller, right?

You know, you have, you know, JPJ and he'll be a guard, one of the guards spots.

You know, you have, you know, Caleb Rogers, he'll be one of the guards spots.

You also had DJ glaze.

You have Charles Grant.

You know, you're, you're going to add some more guys in, you know, in the, in the draft.

And so it's like, all right.

Now you all of a sudden are starting to make some good decisions.

Rick Denison, I don't think he gets talked about enough.

Like this dude is a grizzly old vet when it comes to being an offensive line coach.

Like this dude knows exactly what he's doing and really going back to your point

that you made way earlier in the show when you're saying, you know,

Kirk cousins could be behind this offensive line.

Well, that's trying to still try to figure things out.

That also could be in play here.

Like they're not going to figure out the zone blocking scheme on day one.

I promise you, right?

Go back and look at Seattle, what they did last year.

Seattle, it took a while before they actually got down that zone blocking scheme

and what they were trying to do and what they were trying to, to teach there.

So it's going to take reps and reps and reps.

It might take four or five games before these guys get it under their belt and feel comfortable.

So why risk your, your, your, your franchise, you know, quarterback that you're going to have

and you're hoping you have for 10, 15 years, right?

You're, you're hoping that that's going to be the guy.

Why, why put him in harm's way, right?

Let these guys get some, get some reps out there together and, and, and get some actual film out there.

And, you know, and then all of a sudden, then when you feel comfortable with, okay,

everything's clicking the way it should.

Now we're going to put that guy out there.

Like everything they've done this off season to me has been smart.

It's been on point.

They've made some really good hires.

Like I don't hear too many people criticizing the Raiders and the criticism that I do hear

the Raiders at this point of the game is just because they want to criticize the Raiders because it's

convenient. It's easy, right?

And that's, I mean, that's, that's me being not a fan, not silver and black glasses on.

That's just being as objective as possible and listening and I do a lot of listening.

I do a lot of talking, but I do a lot of listening.

And from everything I've been hearing, there's a lot of credit being given to the silver and black

and John Spite taking Tom Brady in particular.

You probably got to unmute myself there, but you were saying the good things there.

I do want to mention that I think, I think it all started from when they started putting

this coaching staff together.

And once they hire Clincubiac, all the pieces kind of came together, you know,

you mentioned Rick Denison.

This might have been the biggest and best hire this off season other than Clincubiac.

He's had success everywhere.

He's gone cue.

And do you feel like that was also kind of the steal of the off season for so far for the

Raiders to bring him in?

I think, I mean, just to him, Andrew Genoco, like keeping the band together, right?

Keeping the guys that roll with the Cubiacs.

And Denison has been with the Cubiacs every step of the way.

I mean, that's, that's, I mean, he's got four Super Bowl rings, right?

He didn't get those on accident, right?

They didn't keep him around just because they're his buddy next door, right?

Oh, hey, let's, let's bring all Rick over.

No, I mean, like he's a heck of a coach, right?

And it's funny.

I was at the combine and I forget who it was.

It was a young lady that was talking to us about, you know, a Clincubiac.

And I think she's from Houston, like I can't remember.

But anyway, so she said she was talking about and you, you know, you, you, you saw

Cubiac higher Rick Denison and she's like, look, a lot of people don't like Rick Denison,

but the Cubiacs level.

And it's like, that's the one thing I can tell you is that they don't like him

because he's a hard coach and he'll, like he'll, he'll be tough on the players

to make sure that they, they're doing what they're supposed to do.

But the Cubiacs love him and he gets the job done.

So yeah, you'll be happy that that guy's going to be a coach in your office of line.

And that's fine with me.

Like he doesn't have to be a fan favorite, he doesn't have to be a team favorite.

As long as he gets the job done and clearly by his track record, he's gotten the job done.

Yeah.

And there's a lot of experience on this Raiders team.

Clincubi X for a season as a head coach, but the experience is there

and the team that he's put together is really solid.

So excited for Fernando Mendoza.

If you're not excited for Fernando Mendoza at this point, I don't know what's wrong

with you because they bring in Kurt Cousins who's going to be a great bridge quarterback

and they're setting it up for Fernando to have success for many years.

They're not rushing him out.

They're throwing him out there behind the old line.

That doesn't have that chemistry.

I'm excited, Q, I can't wait till the draft, which is coming up in three weeks.

And you're probably going to be there at the draft, right?

Oh, yeah, yeah.

I'll be there a couple of days in advance.

They have some events that go on with all the prospects that are there in the green room.

So I'm there every year.

You get that opportunity to talk to them.

It's usually like a community event that they're at something for the kids.

And it's a really cool event.

Usually Roger Godell is there.

And so you get some opportunities to do some interviews.

And really, I mean, that's when I established my relationship last year with Ashton Gentee.

And, you know, because I was there in Green Bay.

And so I got to talk to him for a good, you know, 10 minutes or whatever.

And then talk to him immediately after he came off the stage, was able to get an interview with them.

And I'll do the same thing again this year.

So yeah, I'm looking forward to being in Pittsburgh.

And it's going to be a great day for a nation.

It really will be.

Yeah.

We're going to look forward to all your nuggets on MendozaCube because we're going to be wanting that Mendoza content.

I can't wait till the Jersey drops.

And you're seeing that silver and black with Mendoza on the back.

It's going to be a hot buy.

I'll tell you right now, that's the one I won't be scared to buy.

I was scared when I bought Joe Marcus Russell.

I still have it in the closet.

But I will say that I'm excited for this.

And I think the Raiders are finally making moves to be successful.

And it's not going to happen overnight.

This is a plan that's going to take a couple of years.

And I like it a lot more than rebuilding on the fly.

So, Ritter Nation, if you have any comments or questions you're watching this on YouTube,

get them into the chat in that fourth and final segment.

Q and I will be taking some of your questions and comments.

Keep a locked here on the locked on network.

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Remember in that next segment, we're taking some of your questions and comments.

I've been waiting for this segment, Q.

When I was putting together the email to send you last night,

I was like, I cannot wait to do this with Q because we're going to talk about

our favorite draft prospects that the Raiders may draft in rounds two and three

because we're all set on Mendoza here, right?

So we got to talk about rounds two and three.

And I think this is probably the most talked about thing other than Mendoza, Q.

I'm sure you've been getting lots of calls, you know, you've been having a lot of

guests on your Raider show talking about rounds two and three.

So it doesn't have to be specific to any round.

But who is your number one prospect other than Fernando Mendoza that you're

like, I wish this is kind of a wish list.

I wish the Raiders would take a look at him and probably draft him for that

second round pick.

I think I got to go with AJ Halsey, the safety out of LSU.

And I know that someone's going to roll their eyes and be like,

you can't take a safety of three, yes, you can, especially a guy that goes

and creates turnovers.

I mean, that guy goes and seeks the ball, right?

He'll intercept the ball, he'll cause fumbles.

He's a guy, he's a, he's a big body.

Now he's, he's fast.

I mean, he can go silence.

He can be that eraser in the back end.

And one of the things for the Raiders that they haven't had in years,

and this is something that I've been talking about quite a bit,

they haven't had that guy that that just is comfortable seeing ball and

getting ball, go get that ball, right?

They haven't had that guy, honestly, since C would, right?

I mean, and that was the guy that any time the ball was in the air,

he felt like it was his AJ Halsey's the same way.

And oh, by the way, he can lower the boom if he needs to as well.

All he's done throughout the course of his career in college has been

create turnovers, right?

Get the ball back to his offense.

Like I said, whether that's force of the fumble or coming up with an interception,

the Raiders need that kind of a dude on the back end of their defense.

Isaiah Polamau, he's going into the last year of his deal.

Jeremy Channon's going into the last year of his deal.

Clint Kubiak just said at the, at the owner's meetings earlier this week,

that they need to add some, some depth into the safety room.

And that's a dude right there.

And I know that he's kind of projected to go like mid-round or the,

the second round.

Okay, you know, if you just, if you feel like he's that guy,

I wouldn't handle problem with them taking them at 36.

If they trade back a little bit and get them, that's fine.

Whatever, I really don't care, right?

I think he's the guy that the Raiders need to start to look at.

And guys that create turnovers in high school normally create turnovers in college.

Guys that turn, create turnovers in college, have a habit to do that in the NFL.

But if they don't, they're probably not going to all of a sudden pick up

some new skill set in the league.

You know what I mean?

So they need to start finding guys that have that trait,

the one where they're not afraid to see ball and get ball.

The Raiders haven't had it in a long time.

I think AJ Halsey would do a great job for him.

Yeah, you know what I really hate every time there's like the Raiders pre-game show

that happens nationally.

And they're like, look at the takeaways for the Raiders or at the bottom of the league.

Because the Raiders have struggled to get those takeaways.

AJ Halsey, that would be a great pick.

And you made a really good point, you, they could also trade back and get more picks.

What is spy tech known for last season during the draft?

He got a lot of picks.

They stacked up on the picks.

So I actually love that AJ Halsey is one of my favorite players in the draft as well.

And so I know the Raiders are probably not going to look for a defensive end.

And I'm just talking about my favorite players in the draft at this point.

But if Cassius how is to drop in the second round?

And he's there, Texas A&M stud.

And he's known to be a sack machine.

This guy has a first quick spot, a first step that is super quick.

And he's vicious and he's going to get you those sacks.

I absolutely love him.

I think whatever team gets him, it's going to be an absolute steal.

Some people are saying that it would be a little bit of a reach.

But I think if you're going to say that with everybody, like there's not one player

that we're going to roll out here.

We can go through, we can go through five guys right now.

You can roll out five guys, neck roll out five guys.

And somebody will be like, oh no, you can get that guy later.

Oh, you can get that guy later.

No, you can get one of those later.

Well, why don't you get the best of them?

Right?

Well, you can get it.

Like, for example, I'll go back to safety.

You can get a safety later.

But why don't you get the best one?

Right?

And Caleb Downs is the best one.

He's going to go top 10.

Right?

We know that.

But why don't you get one that's on that level that can create plays that makes play?

Why don't you get that guy?

Right?

Why would you settle for?

Well, I'll just get another safety later.

I'll just get another defensive tackle later.

I'll just get that.

Why don't you go and try to get the best of the best if you can?

Like that.

That's me.

That's.

There's always going to be you can get this guy later.

That's what I see.

It doesn't matter what you can talk about a right tackle.

You can talk about a defensive tackle.

You can talk about a linebacker.

Oh, it's a deep linebacker trap.

Oh, it's a deep, why receiver's that?

Okay, but why don't you just go get a really good player?

Like why don't you go.

Yeah.

All right.

That's what that's what cracks me up is that there's always going to be unless you.

Unless you say someone's player that that that person also has in their mind.

Oh, yeah, that's what I got.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Get him right there.

Yeah.

And you know what?

That's the thing.

Everyone's going to say that's a little bit of a reach.

But if Cassius how drops in the draft.

And we talk about best player available.

And he's the best player available.

You have to go and grab him because we don't actually know how long Max is going to stay.

We don't know if they're going to trade him later on this season because he's going to be balling out of his mind.

And if he's available, I would love if the Raiders would get him.

So if you were to pick your second pick rounds two or three.

Doesn't matter what the position is.

Who's your second favorite player on the board?

I like Kaden McDonald as well.

The defensive tackle from Ohio State.

I again, I'm one year of really high level play.

I was talking to Matt Miller the other day and asked him because he actually had him going in the second round.

Where do you have him going?

I have him.

Oh, to the Texans at 38.

Right.

And so I asked him.

I said, you know, I was surprised that he dropped.

And he was like, I actually think he's the second round guy.

And he gave me a really good explanation.

Why?

And he's always funny that you asked me about him, though, because I had him at first mocked to the Raiders at 36.

And then I was like, oh, no, I'll go and get him a wide receiver.

So he did.

He gave the Raiders Denzel Boston at 36.

And he said, but I know Tamiko Ryan's in Houston would love a guy like him a big space eater at that position.

So, you know, that's another guy that I like.

And again, when the Raiders have as many holes as they do and they just need a lot of really good talent.

Like, that's my goal.

That's why we had the conversation before with me, you and Link, when it was like, well, you got to go defensive round two.

I'm just like, just go get a really good player.

That's what the Raiders need.

They need really good football players.

If they came away from the draft with really good football players, like a handful of them,

I think every one of us would be excited.

Like, for example, let me tell you, Matt Miller's job.

I'm looking at it right now.

Fernando Mendoza, he had, he had the Raiders taken it first.

Denzel Boston in round two.

Cage.

Cage.

Cage.

Cage.

Cage.

Cage.

Cage.

Cage.

Cage.

Cage.

Cage.

Cage.

Cage.

Cage.

Cage.

Cage.

Cage.

Cage.

Cage.

Cage.

Cage.

Cage.

Cage.

Cage.

Lowe Hulf

Lowe Hulf

Lowe Hulf

Lowe.

Lowe Hulf

Lowe.

like every player that Matt Miller said that they should take.

But it was just I thought a really good example.

And that's why I just have him over here in my notes.

Yeah, honestly, Denzel Boston didn't round two.

I would be, I would be happy as hell if they got Denzel.

He's an absolute stud.

And he's, I think he could be a wide receiver number one.

My favorite player in the draft,

I watched a lot of tape on this guy since week two.

This is the one guy I was watching.

Everyone said he would be, once again,

this would be a reach for if they picked him

in the second round at round, you know, number 36.

But they're saying he's gonna go later in round two

and it's Anthony Hill, Jr. from Texas.

Super quick, sideline to sideline.

And we talk about like turnovers.

This guy is a force-fumble machine.

He's an absolute stud.

That's why I like him.

I think he would elevate any defense.

And he's a plug-and-play guy, you know,

we talk about there's not like really any generational

talents, but they're starters.

Anthony Hill is a starter.

And we talk about the three, four base defense

and linebackers.

This kid is an absolute stud.

If you haven't seen his tape, go get it.

He's my favorite player in the draft.

I think whoever gets him cute,

they're gonna be really lucky.

And if the Raiders trade back and they're in a position

to draft him, I would say you like you have to go get him.

But he's my second.

He's my second favorite player in the,

well, my first favorite player in the draft,

but other than Mendoza, because obviously,

I'm rooting for Mendoza here.

But Q, if you had to pick your third and final guy

that you would have on your wish list

for the Raiders to go and get, who are you picking?

I'm going on Zachariah Brantz.

I really am.

Zachariah Brantz is my guy.

I have a good relationship with him already.

Obviously, the branch name,

the nostalgia there with the Raiders,

not to mention, and that's just a cherry on top.

The dude could play, right?

And just like I talked about Halsey as a guy

that can make plays on the defensive side of things,

Zachariah Brantz can make things happen

in special teams, right?

That's an area of it.

Just like I was a big supporter of Rashid Shaheed,

and the Raiders going out and making a move

for him in free agency, which obviously they didn't.

He resigned with the Seahawks.

One of my biggest things was, hey,

I'm not worried about him being a big-time wide receiver.

I'm worried about him in the kick-return

and pump-return game.

Zachariah Brantz early on in his career could dominate,

can absolutely dominate from that area for the Raiders.

And when was the last time they had a real threat back there?

I'll wait.

I mean, seriously, like when was the last time,

let's be honest with ourselves.

Let's not, everything is rainbows and puppy dogs

in Raiderland.

When was the last time there was a real deal threat

back there that teams were like, yeah,

I don't think we want to kick or throw or kick to that guy

because he has a chance to take it back.

Desmond Howard, maybe Cardell Patterson, maybe, right?

Twain Harris once, right?

I mean, and this is Jacobi Ford, right?

He was the last guy that had a kick-return touchdown.

That was 2010.

There's people listening to this show that weren't alive then.

I mean, think about that.

I mean, probably not.

Yeah, I hope not.

I mean, but no, actually, I do.

Because then maybe like what?

Six years ago, it was 16 years ago.

So maybe there's a, like, a 14-year-old

that's watched it with mom or props or whatever.

So maybe that's true.

I'll just say the point is it's been too long, right?

When was the last time the Raider's had a threat back there?

So if you have a threat offensively to score,

you have a threat defensively to score,

and you have a threat in special teams to score,

you're giving yourselves a chance.

So again, I think he's a really good wire receiver.

I think he would fit great in this Clint Coupiag offense

where you line him up just about anywhere

and he shows what he could do.

And if you haven't watched him play

or you only watched him at USC,

go back and look what he did in Georgia last year.

Bloody lipping all, he's out there balling, right?

So I mean, he had just under a thousand yards

receiving last year, right?

The dude is an absolute monster.

You go and you get him, you line him up all over the field

in this Clint Coupiag offense

and you watch him and that speed go to work.

And then all by the way, when the defense gets three and out,

there's this dude back there that that team

don't want to kick to.

So when the ball goes out of bounds

and you get really good field position, great.

When they kick off in the ball,

doesn't make it to the landing zone,

you get really good field position.

Great.

You know who that's because of that dude back there.

So again, that's another reason why I would take him.

Problem with him is late second round, early third round,

not too sure where the sweet spot is for him being drafted.

So that's, I don't know if the Raiders

are gonna have a chance to get him.

Yeah, and obviously there's a lot of ties

to the branch name in terms of the Raiders, a lot of history

there.

I'll say this to you, you'll love this.

So I do simulation drafts like all the time,

like moments every hour.

And the last time I did it,

I won't win a 2025.

I'm like, listen, I do, I do a simulation draft

like at least like twice an hour or something like that.

Okay, I got time.

Anyways, every time though,

Zachara and Branch is available in the third round

and I snag him every time and I'm always thinking

you would love this if I was the gym,

but that's not gonna happen obviously.

But he is available there.

And you know what, if he does fall a little bit

and you never know if the Raiders gonna trade some picks.

So they might be able to get him.

I would love him and he would love to be a Raider.

You and Amber have both talked about him

wanting to be a Raider.

So you want guys that actually want to play

for your franchise really quickly.

My third and final favorite player

and I don't think the Raiders are gonna draft him

because I don't know what they're gonna do with the position.

But if you need running back depth,

Mike Washington from Arkansas is an absolute beast.

He's like 223.

He's a North and South runner.

He's physical and he's got a nasty stiff arm.

Like this kid was so fun to watch

throughout his college career.

He would be my favorite.

And if you have a two back tandem,

that's like Ash and Gentie and Mike Washington.

Thank man.

They could be excited.

He needs a wingman for Gentie.

Yes, yes.

And we know that Ash is a guy that gets better

as he continues to get carries

and they're gonna use him in a way better way

than they did last season.

But I think having a Mike Washington

having another threat at running back is huge.

And they like the two back tandem.

They did it in Seattle, right?

That was one of their most successful stories last season

in Seattle on the Super Bowl.

So just another guy to keep your eye on.

Comment up in that next and final segment, though.

We are gonna be taking some of your questions and comments.

If you're watching this on YouTube,

get them into the chat right now.

We're gonna take a quick break and be back.

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All right, really quickly, Raider Nation.

Thanks so much for rocking out with us.

And remember, hit that like and subscribe button.

We got a question for Q Myers from cast

and overcore club, good front of the show.

He said thoughts on Fernando ready mid season

and an NFL quarterback needy team,

giving us a good draft pick for cousins

at the trade deadline.

I love this question.

I do too.

I don't know what a good draft pick would be for cousins.

You know what I mean?

I don't know what they would really want to give up

what a team would be willing to give up for a current cousins.

I feel like if you all of a sudden need to trade

for a quarterback at the trade deadline,

I don't know how good your season's going.

You know what I mean?

That's only, it's a good thought in theory.

Honestly, like, yeah, hey, great.

If all of a sudden, Mendoza is out there

and you say, hey, we don't really need this veteran anymore.

Let's go ahead and flip them.

I just don't know what team at that stage of the game

unless someone just got injured.

I don't know what team is going to trade for a quarterback

because normally at the trade deadline,

when you're making a move for somebody,

it's because your team is in a good position

and you feel like you're that player away.

At the trade deadline, you're probably out of it

if you're trading for a quarterback.

You know what I mean?

Unless all of a sudden crazy things happen

and somebody gets injured,

which is a national football league,

so they think it happens.

So that would be the only way I could see a scenario

like a Daniel Jones type situation, right?

When he went down with the Achilles

and they went and made a call to Phillip Rivers,

if that happened before the trade deadline, I could see that.

So yeah, there's something to that.

Yeah, I'll talk about something to it, sure.

Yeah, but I think if cousins is rolling,

they're gonna stick with them.

And I think there could be a good chance

that he actually fits in really well

because he knows the system already

and he could be balling out.

So that could also be the case.

So in terms of what they might get back

and draft capital for him could be interesting.

But I see him staying with the Raiders throughout that season.

Slow jam James donated $20 to the show.

Thank you so much, James.

He also said like this, slow jam James.

He donated $20 to the show, the Raiders squash show.

Do you want a question?

You can tell if you did radio for a minute with that.

You know what I mean?

You can just tell with the online also learning a new offense

and new center learning, new line mates and quarterback.

How much does cousins help the online now

and get them ready for Fernando Mendoza

while he catches up to speed

as an NFL rookie quarterback?

That's a great question.

I got to read it again.

I'm still stuck in slow jam.

Well, yeah, I think cousins will definitely help

the offensive line as well, right?

I think Kubiak, especially, and this is something

and I kind of previewed this on my radio show yesterday.

I had my guy, Michael Collar or Matthew Collar,

excuse me, from purpleinsider.com joined the show

and he was saying that what Clint Kubiak did

for Kurt Cousins was speed everything up as well,

especially while they were still trying to learn the offensive line.

He did a lot of play call in to get the ball

out of his hands pretty quickly.

And I think that Kurt Cousins is going to show that.

I think Kubiak's going to do that

while the Raiders are trying to put their offensive line together

and get them all in the same page, I should say, excuse me.

And then he'll be able to help out with Mendoza

to kind of teach them like, all right, on this call,

this is what you're looking for here.

This is what it's going to be,

especially in this situation, boom, boom.

I mean, yeah, I know you have these options here,

but this is really where you're going to go.

And I think that that will help the offensive line.

I think that'll give the offensive line time

to be able to gel and get this scheme down.

So yeah, I think Kurt Cousins helps everybody,

honestly, offensively, to get all this together

and get on the same page.

Yeah, I'm excited for him to be a mentor

to for Fernando Mendoza.

I think they both have really good personalities too.

That's what I'm excited about.

Let's go to good friend of the show,

DJ Raider AZ Squad.

If he starts rough, how long do you think he will take

Raider Nation to turn on Cousins and start chanting

Fernando?

They started yesterday.

Yes, it's a big point.

I mean, they started yesterday.

I had a few back and forths on Twitter yesterday.

You know, oh, I know Q is going to try to convince me.

This is a good sign.

I was like, there's nothing to convince.

I mean, it's a veteran signing.

It's insurance, right?

And so it's like, well, he can't play very well.

Okay, well, maybe he doesn't have a ton.

He's not going to be vintage Kirk Cousins.

That's for sure, right?

But he did.

If you go back and watch Atlanta, he did play a lot better

towards the end of the season last year.

Remember, this is an older dude coming off in Achilles, right?

It wasn't that long ago where he tore his Achilles

and normally, you know, the first year, yeah, you're good.

You could play unless you're Jason Tatum,

then you're all sitting back on the court in 10, 10 months,

which is ridiculous.

But you could play, but it's normally like two years

and then you're where you need to be.

I feel like Kirk Cousins is getting better.

I'm not worried about him.

He doesn't have to be vintage Kirk Cousins.

All he has to do is be able to hold down the fort

until the Raiders are comfortable putting Fernando

and Mendoza out there.

That's why I said at the top, it's a win-win situation, right?

I mean, yes, they're going to turn on them pretty quickly.

He's going to throw an interception.

Everyone's going to be pounding the table for Fernando,

which is the exact reason.

I mean, if you want to bring it full circle,

the exact reason why I was like, Derek Carr will be an awful idea,

right?

Could you imagine that if they're going to turn on Kirk Cousins,

half the fan base is turned on Derek Carr a long time ago.

Could you imagine if he came in?

Oh my goodness, that would have been awful.

That would have been an awful situation.

So I'm glad they didn't go that direction.

Even though, like I said, I have nothing against Derek,

but that would have been just a set up for half the fan base

to be happy, half the fan base to be upset.

Like, Kirk Cousins is going to be there

if he wins the job out of training camp, he wins the job.

If he doesn't, Mendoza starts.

It's that simple.

And if Kirk Cousins starts to play bad,

they'll turn the sticks over to Fernando.

Like, it's, I don't know how many different ways

I can explain it.

It's a good hiring for what's required.

It's not, it's not like they're asking Kirk Cousins

to go out there and take them to the promised land.

And it's not the Smith situation.

Like, last year, remember last year,

the Raiders trade for Geno Smith, right?

But what was the succession plan?

Who was the guy that was going to come in and replace Geno

when he was done?

None of us had any idea what that was.

We know where the succession plan is.

We know who's coming in to replace Kirk Cousins.

Fernando Mendoza.

So that's why you can feel comfortable

with this situation, as opposed to last year,

where we had no clue, right?

I mean, it was, it was Geno Smith, Ain't no Connell

or Kenny Piggett or Cam Miller

and no disrespect to Cam Miller,

but we knew that that was going to be a project.

So there was no real light at the end of the road

and at the end of the tunnel, whatever you want to call it.

But there is here.

You know who the guy is going to be.

It's going to be Fernando Mendoza

as soon as they feel comfortable.

So that's why I don't think this is,

this is a bad move at all.

And I'm not being a hater,

but I rather have Kirk Cousins than Geno.

So that's just kind of the way that I look at it.

But if I have to take a look at it, I like it.

I like it.

I like it a lot of Kirk Cousins would ask me,

but I think great move for the Raiders.

Great show.

We even got Slow Jams Q.

Hopefully we bring them back for another episode.

Thank you.

This has been a fun show.

Thank you.

We'll be back on Monday with Link.

We're going to leave it off on that.

Thanks so much for the donation.

Hit that like and subscribe button, enjoy the weekend

and we'll be back on Monday.