The football world is talking about Fernando Mendoza, the rookie quarterback taken first overall by the Las Vegas Raiders. On a recent episode of The Colin Cowherd Show, former NFL scout John Middlekauff went viral for a bold claim. Middlekauff said he is so confident in Mendoza’s future that he would bet a massive chunk of his own life savings on the young signal-caller making it big in the pros.

During the show, Cowherd explained why he believes Mendoza will succeed where so many young prospects fail. He pointed out that two traits work in almost every profession: early maturity and an obsessive passion. Cowherd noted that the 23-year-old quarterback lives and breathes football, showing a level of focus usually seen only in seasoned veterans.

“There’s two things, John, that just work in almost every field: maturity at a young age and almost obsessive-level passion. That’s the one thing about Mendoza,” Cowherd said.

Middlekauff agreed, adding an interesting physical comparison. While Mendoza and future Hall of Famer Drew Brees do not share the same physical build, Middlekauff believes their mental approach is identical. He praised Mendoza’s natural leadership and film-room habits, joking that the best quarterbacks in the league are usually football nerds who rarely leave the facility.

When Cowherd pushed him on exactly how good the kid could be, Middlekauff kept his expectations grounded but highly optimistic.

“Is he ever going to be the best quarterback in the NFL? I wouldn’t bet my life savings on it. Would I bet a large percentage of my life savings that he’s going to turn into a top 10, 12-ish quarterback? I would!” Middlekauf admitted.

For a former NFL guy, that’s not something he would say lightly. It only took one NFL preseason game to see how special Mendoza is.

That obsession showed up in his preseason debut against the Arizona Cardinals. Mendoza completed 10 of 16 passes for 97 yards, including a sharp six-yard touchdown pass to Jack Bech. What impressed analysts most was his comfort under center. After playing mostly in shotgun during college, he executed multi-step drops and play-action fakes smoothly, finishing with a 100.3 passer rating.

The former No. 1 overall pick protected the ball perfectly, showed zero hesitation, and finished the night with a highly impressive 100.3 passer rating.

Then again, it is easy to see where that confidence comes from when you look at what Mendoza just accomplished before entering the draft. He put together one of the most legendary seasons in college football history, throwing for 3,535 yards and 41 touchdowns, despite playing in a run-prioritized Hoosiers offense.

Even if the Hoosiers hadn’t won their Natty, it wouldn’t have changed a thing about Mendoza or his obsession.

Right now, the Raiders have veteran Kirk Cousins penciled in as the starter to give Mendoza some breathing room to grow. However, Mendoza is already earning first-team reps in joint team practices, and defensive stars around the league are openly admitting he is going to be a problem.

With his insane work ethic, it feels like it is only a matter of time before he takes over the starting gig for good.