Pat McAfee and Kirk Herbstreit Drop Hall of Fame Comps on Raiders QB Fernando Mendoza
Kirk Herbstreit and Pat McAfee just put Las Vegas Raiders rookie Fernando Mendoza in rare company, comparing his game and learning curve to Peyton Manning , Troy Aikman, and Matt Ryan . With Mel Kiper and Bleacher Report's analytics team echoing the praise — and a floor pegged at Ryan Tannehill — Raider Nation may finally have the franchise quarterback they've waited over two decades to find.
Video Transcript
Every ball is a dart.
Pat McAfee and Kirk Herbstreit make stunning Fernando Mendoza comparison.
When Kirk Herbstreit and Pat McAfee start name-dropping Peyton Manning and Troy Aikman in the same breath as a rookie quarterback, Raider Nation listens.
On the Pat McAfee Show this week, Herbstreit went deep on Fernando Mendoza, the kid the Raiders are betting their future on.
His take?
Mendoza is going to beat you with his mind.
He already sees pre-snap movement at the NFL level, and Herbstreit thinks his X factor is the mobility nobody's talking about.
Then came the comp that's going to live on sports radio all summer, Aikman and Manning.
Herbstreit didn't say Mendoza is them.
He said elite quarterbacks need time.
McAfee piled on, saying every ball Mendoza throws is a dart, every single one.
And Mel Kiper has been hammering this for a month, calling him a cross between Peyton Manning and Matt Ryan.
Even Bleacher Report's analytics team set Mendoza's floor at Ryan Tannehill, a guy who won 22 games and nearly reached a Super Bowl.
That's the worst case.
Clint Kubiak still wants him sitting behind Kirk Cousins to start.
But after two decades of searching, Raider Nation might finally have its guy.
