Fernando Mendoza was drafted as the future of the Las Vegas Raiders. It’s coming now.

When Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza was selected first overall by the Las Vegas Raiders in April’s NFL draft, he updated his LinkedIn bio to say he was “focused on preparation, growth and discipline.”

Emphasis on the first part.

It’s a quirk of the NFL that teams historically strive to draft a quarterback as early as possible and then play him as little as possible for much of their first season. Teams view the position as so demanding and the professional game so fast-paced that they want their prized picks to prepare as much as possible before inheriting the pressure of an entire franchise.

Mendoza’s preparation time ended Tuesday, nine games into his rookie season.

Now the Raiders need him to produce.

Before Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline, Las Vegas (4-5) traded veteran starting quarterback Kirk Cousins ​​and elevated Mendoza to the starting role ahead of Sunday’s Week 10 matchup against the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks (5-4). Cousins ​​had thrown 20 touchdowns, the most of any quarterback to change teams midseason in NFL history, according to an NBC Sports study.

After starting 3-0, the Raiders have lost five of their last six games, but still have what one playoff tracker this week rated as a 15% chance of making what would be just the franchise’s third playoff appearance since 2003. Trading Cousins and elevating Mendoza “is not a way of saying we’re preparing for the season or looking forward to 2027,” the Raiders’ general manager said. Raiders, John Spytek.

“This is something that (Mendoza) has worked very hard for from the moment he walked into this building,” Spytek told reporters this week. “He passed every test. I don’t want to say he deserved it, but he put us in a position where we had to make a very difficult decision today with his growth as a person, as a teammate, as a leader, as a quarterback.”

Mendoza is known for being a quick study. While attending Cal, he spent his summers away from Berkeley interning at investment firms. In his first and only season at Indiana last fall, Mendoza adopted the Hoosiers’ offensive playbook so quickly that he led the perennial Big Ten doormat to a stunning national championship using his arms and feet.

Raiders coach Klint Kubiak, who as an offensive player mentored Sam Darnold during last season’s Super Bowl with the Seahawks, said Cousins ​​was “the right role model” for Mendoza to learn from and accelerate his acclimation to the NFL.

“It’s time to rally around Fernando,” center Tyler Linderbaum said. “Everyone has to step up and play for him. Obviously, it’s never easy being a rookie in a first game, but there’s 10 other guys on the field with him, there’s a whole defense, a special teams unit, and just be there for him. Let him play with confidence. We’ve seen it every day in practice, the plays he can make.”

Mendoza’s only snaps to this point came on October 11 when he played late in a blowout loss to the New England Patriots and completed 6 of 8 passes. The beginnings of recruits are inherently difficult; Quarterbacks ranked No. 1 overall are 5-23-1 in their first start since 1970, according to an NBC Sports study. Facing the Seahawks will make Mendoza’s big day even more difficult. Seattle leads the NFL in total defense, allowing just 244 yards per game.

However, Mendoza may not be under the most pressure of any Raiders player on Sunday. The team’s defense has allowed 30 or more points in each of its last six games, tied for the longest streak by a team in a season in NFL history.

“Fernando did everything we asked of him in practice,” Kubiak said. “I think he exceeded those expectations, and we all know that live fire on Sunday is a lot different than practice. However, he showed us that he is ready, not only physically, but mentally.”