Why the Saints Should Be Watching How Raiders QB Fernando Mendoza Adapts to Under Center Snaps, and What It Means for New Orleans' Own Quarterback Evolution

You know, I have been watching football for a long time, and I will tell you something that does not get talked about enough in this modern era we are living in. The way a quarterback stands in the pocket, the way he receives the snap, the distance between him and his center, those things matter more than people realize. And right now, watching what is happening with Fernando Mendoza over in Las Vegas learning to take snaps from under center for the first time in his professional career, it got me thinking about where the New Orleans Saints are headed at the quarterback position and what we can learn from watching a young signal caller make a fundamental adjustment to the way he operates.

Let me tell you something. I was at a Saints game back in 1987, and there was this young quarterback named Bobby Hebert, and he was a guy who had come from the USFL and had to adjust to different schemes, different coaching philosophies, different ways of doing things. The transition was not always smooth, but you could see the work happening in real time. That is what I am seeing with Fernando Mendoza right now in Las Vegas, and it has me thinking about the Saints organization and where we are in 2024 and 2025.

Here is the situation. Mendoza spent his entire college career operating almost exclusively from the shotgun. That is what the game has become in many places. You look at modern college football offenses, and they are spreading defenses out, they are getting the quarterback in space, they are operating from shotgun and pistol formations the vast majority of the time. That is the world these young quarterbacks are growing up in. But the NFL, particularly when you get into traditional offenses and ball control schemes, sometimes you need a quarterback who can operate from under center. The Raiders apparently believe this is important enough to work with Mendoza on this adjustment. And that is a fascinating development for a franchise trying to find its quarterback of the future.

Now, why should Saints fans care about this? I will tell you why. The Saints organization, under Dennis Allen and with this roster construction, we are in a moment of transition. We have gone through the Drew Brees era, we are no longer in that space, and we are looking at what the next decade looks like. We drafted Will Legeux in the third round not long ago. We have been in the market for quarterback solutions. We have brought in veterans. We have been searching for answers. And when you watch what Mendoza is going through in Las Vegas, it tells you something about the nature of professional quarterback development that applies directly to our situation.

See, here is what I know about quarterback development. It is not just about arm talent. It is not just about athleticism. It is not just about football intelligence, though Lord knows that matters. It is about adaptability. It is about being willing to unlearn things you have done your entire life and relearn them in a new way. That takes mental toughness. That takes humility. That takes a willingness to be uncomfortable in front of millions of people while you are learning a new craft. Mendoza is doing exactly that right now, and the Raiders are making the bet that this adjustment will make him a better professional quarterback.

Think about what it means to take a snap from under center for the first time as a professional. For years, Mendoza has had the center snap the ball to him five to seven yards away. He is in a rhythm with how that feels, how the ball travels through the air, what his timing looks like with receivers when he is in that formation. Now he has to do it with the center directly in front of him, the ball traveling a shorter distance, his reads slightly different, his footwork pattern adjusted, his depth in the pocket adjusted. Every single thing that felt natural is now something he has to relearn. That is a huge undertaking.

And you know what? This is exactly the kind of thing that separates quarterbacks who can truly adapt to the NFL from quarterbacks who are limited by their college backgrounds. I have seen it happen over decades. The great ones, the ones who stick around, the ones who have long careers, they are the ones who say, "I will learn whatever you need me to learn." The ones who struggle are often the ones who are too committed to doing things the way they have always done them.

For the Saints, this is relevant right now in a major way. If the organization is looking at potential quarterback solutions in the draft or through trade or through free agency, adaptability has to be on the checklist. Can this person learn? Can this person adjust? Can this person take coaching? Can this person do things that are uncomfortable? These are the questions that matter. And watching Mendoza work through this under center adjustment in Las Vegas is like a case study in real time of what that process looks like.

The Saints have a proud history of quarterback development and acquisition. We won a Super Bowl with Drew Brees, a man who came to us in 2006 having been written off by San Diego. We had Archie Manning before that. We have had different solutions at different times. But the through line has always been this: we found quarterbacks who could adapt, who could learn, who could grow into the system we were asking them to be part of.

Now, I am not saying Mendoza is the answer for the Saints or anything like that. He plays for Las Vegas. We are New Orleans. That is two different franchises with two different situations. But the principle here, the lesson, is that when you are evaluating quarterback solutions for your team, you have to think about this kind of fundamental adaptability. You have to think about, can this guy learn? Can this guy adjust? Can this guy take something that is uncomfortable and master it?

The Raiders are clearly betting that Mendoza has that capacity. They brought him in. They identified this gap in his preparation. And they are working with him on it. That is the kind of attention to detail that separates organizations that find success at the quarterback position from organizations that spin their wheels year after year.

For Saints fans, here is what matters. As we move forward in this era, as we look at what quarterback solutions might be available to us, we need to be thinking about these kinds of fundamental questions. Not just, "Does this guy have a strong arm?" Not just, "Is he athletic?" But does he have the mental toughness to adapt? Does he have the willingness to be uncomfortable? Does he have the humility to learn things he did not know before? Those are the questions that are going to determine whether whoever we end up with at quarterback is going to be able to function in Dennis Allen's offense and lead us back to competitive football.

Watching Fernando Mendoza learn to take snaps from under center, seeing him work through that adjustment in Las Vegas, that is football at its most fundamental level. That is the work. That is the commitment to the craft. And for Saints fans who want this organization to find quarterback stability, that is exactly what we should be looking for in whoever lines up under center for us in the future.