HENDERSON, Nev. -- When Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Tre Tucker met his new teammate, Fernando Mendoza, the first thing he thought was that the former Indiana star quarterback was taller than he had anticipated.
"I didn't realize how tall he was," Tucker said of the 6-foot-5, 225-pound signal-caller. "He's very tall, and he's big."
But more than anything, Tucker was taken aback by Mendoza's "elite" mentality. Mendoza was the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL draft and fresh off a stellar college football season, in which he won the Heisman Trophy and guided Indiana to its first national championship. Tucker, however, said Mendoza came to the Raiders' facility every day as if he were an undrafted rookie, hoping to earn a spot on the 53-man roster.