Fernando Comes across as part Kirk Cousins, part inspirational speaker while talking to the media.
Is that who he genuinely is, though, or is the Las Vegas Raiders rookie quarterback putting on a fake persona by design? The answer might be a little bit of both.
Mendoza is set to play most of the first half for the Las Vegas Raiders against the Houston Texans on Thursday night. It’s Las Vegas’ second game of the preseason. Mendoza looked good in his NFL debut earlier this month.
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, who won the 2025 Heisman Trophy, is constantly going viral for his interviews with the media.
Not everyone finds it delightful, though. Some NFL fans are accusing Mendoza of being “fake.”
“This is a complete act and facade and you will not convince me otherwise,” one fan wrote.
“He sounds fake,” one added.
“I just don’t believe it. Russ and Tebow were cheesy as heck, but at least it felt genuine. I don’t doubt that he’s a down-to-earth person, but he comes off scripted lol,” one fan added.
Others, meanwhile, are praising him.
“Fernando is a great interview because he’s very honest with himself. Incredibly intelligent and PR trained extremely well. He won’t say something that the mass media can create crazy headlines out of. His own harshest critic and he makes it known what he needs to be better at,” one fan added.
It likely is intentional by Mendoza, though
Mendoza promises that he’s a real person, but he believes communication is insanely important.
“Such an important part is communication,” Mendoza said to The Athletic. “That’s how you really get yourself across the line. That’s how you really portray yourself and give a good impression to another person. That’s something I would recommend to anybody, especially any young sports athlete, is the way that you represent yourself and the way that you’re able to come across to your peers, to your coaches and to, later, ownership, it’s so important on your journey.”
