Questions are swirling around whether consensus No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza is the right choice for the Las Vegas Raiders, with his fit in Klint Kubiak’s offense drawing scrutiny. And NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky is leading the charge. However, an ex-Denver Broncos star believes that is just a part of a much larger NFL problem.

“No one in college goes under center anymore,” DiNucci tweeted, responding to Orlovsky’s claims. “College and NFL are not the same game. They haven’t been for a while. This is why the NFL has a developmental problem at the QB position. Not many teams are willing to give these guys time and reps needed to truly adjust to the NFL game. Jobs are at risk. I don’t care if you are pick 1 or pick 231; there is going to be a serious learning curve.”

This is a familiar challenge, as most college offenses prefer the shotgun, forcing quarterbacks to adapt to a different pro-style system—a point DiNucci argues requires development time for any rookie. Take the example of Houston Texan QB C.J. Stroud, who successfully transitioned from a college spread to an NFL offense. He operated within coach Ryan Day’s spread-to-run system at Ohio State. But thanks to his elite ball placement, pocket navigation, and pre-snap recognition, he transitioned seamlessly into the Shanahan-style West Coast offense under OC Bobby Slowik.

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Mendoza lacks experience playing under center. Per ESPN, the Indiana Hoosiers’ QB1 took 3% of his snaps under center. Orlovsky feels Ty Simpson is a better option, as he fits Kubaik’s system of high-level under-center mechanics, a stark contrast to college systems.

“If you look at it, since he’s become an offensive coordinator in the NFL, over 50% of the snaps are from underneath the center,” Orlovsky said of Kubiak during an appearance on Get Up. “That’s the most in the last five-plus years in the NFL. Fernando Mendoza took 5 snaps total from underneath the center in his college career. So, this is going to be a drastically different experience for Mendoza when it comes to operating the QB position.”

While Orlovsky’s concerns about Mendoza are valid, they aren’t a deal-breaker for the Raiders. Mendoza completed 72% of his passes for 3,535 yards and 41 touchdowns, while throwing only six interceptions last season. Furthermore, he finished the 2025 college football season with an impact score of 93.3 in PFSN’s CFB QB Impact Metric.

With these stellar numbers and his ability to perform in big games, Mendoza is the best quarterback option for the Las Vegas front office in the upcoming draft. So to help the youngster transition into the NFL, the Las Vegas Raiders have brought in a veteran signal-caller to serve as a mentor.

Las Vegas signs Kirk Cousins as a possible Fernando Mendoza mentor

As the Las Vegas Raiders possibly eye Fernando Mendoza with the first overall pick, GM John Spytek and Co. have signed veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins as a possible mentor for the Heisman Trophy winner. “Cousins will sign a five-year, $172 million deal with the Raiders that in reality is a one-year, fully-guaranteed $20 million deal that also contains a club option for two years at $80M,” reported ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Over the last two seasons, the veteran signal-caller recorded 5,229 yards, 28 touchdowns, and 21 interceptions for the Atlanta Falcons. This decision aligns with Kubiak’s stance that he prefers starting an experienced pro over a rookie quarterback, allowing the youngster time to acclimate to an NFL offense.

“Ideally, you don’t want him to start day one,” Kubiak said at the annual league meeting, as per ESPN. “You’d love him to be able to learn behind somebody. That’s in a perfect world. It doesn’t always work out that way. Sometimes they have to play from day one, and it’s our job as a coach to get them ready to go. I think it does help the player, though, if they can sit behind a mature adult and watch how they run the show.”

With Cousins providing a veteran buffer, the Raiders are betting that Mendoza can master Kubiak’s system on the practice field, ensuring he’s fully prepared when his number is eventually called.