Fernando Mendoza, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft by the Las Vegas Raiders, said he was "really upset" about leaving team practice in Las Vegas to attend the NFLPA Rookie Premiere in Southern California from May 14 to 17. The Premiere, an annual three-day event where the draft class meets sponsors and licensees, is mandatory for invited rookies under Article 21 Section 7 of the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement. Mendoza did not miss any formal OTA sessions, which started May 18, but he did miss several days of informal team work — the marketing demand cut into the on-field installation window for a No. 1 pick still learning a new playbook.
The Quotes
"I'd rather be practicing right now and I was really upset about actually having to miss practice for this," Mendoza said during a Premiere appearance. He added the standard recovery: "I'm not going to feel sorry for myself and feel wishy-washy. I'm going to have a smile on my face and make the most of that present moment." It is the second time this offseason Mendoza has flagged the same priority. He also skipped Indiana's White House visit after the Hoosiers' 2025 College Football Playoff title to focus on his Raiders preparation.
The Indiana-to-Raiders Pipeline
Mendoza arrived in the NFL on the back of one of the most concentrated single-college-season runs of recent draft history. After three years at Cal, he transferred to Indiana for 2025 and threw for 3,535 yards with a 41-6 touchdown-to-interception ratio while rushing for seven more scores, leading the Hoosiers to a 16-0 record and a 27-21 win over Miami in the national championship. He won the Heisman Trophy. He joins Joe Burrow and Cam Newton as the only players in the common-draft era to win the Heisman, win a national title, and go No. 1 overall in the same offseason. He has elected to wear No. 15 in the NFL — Raiders legend Tom Flores's number, with Flores's blessing — making him the fifth Heisman winner ever drafted by the franchise, after Marcus Allen, Bo Jackson, Tim Brown, and Charles Woodson.
What It Says
The dissatisfaction with leaving practice is the same trait the "Quarterback" Netflix series has built three seasons of content around — the work-obsession that defines first-string NFL passers and reads from the outside as either single-minded or unhealthy depending on the player. Mendoza walking into Las Vegas signaling that the marketing calendar comes second to the playbook is the right first-impression note for a city that has spent two decades not winning at quarterback. Raiders OTAs continue through June.
Source: NBC Sports · Heavy
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