Fernando Mendoza reviewed the footage of snaps he fielded for the Las Vegas Raiders during organized team activities before reporting to training camp. At the urging of quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan, the rookie passer graded each play — rating his accuracy, timing, footwork and how he progressed through his reads.

Or didn’t.

Said Mendoza after practice Thursday at Intermountain Health Performance Center, where he again handled reps with the second-team offense: “I was able to see some common themes and common mishaps I would have on certain concepts. So, I was able to reflect on them throughout the summer, walk through them and now when I’m here at training camp … when I feel those urges come up, I’m able to kill them and make the right play.”

As Mendoza’s quarterbacking improves in conjunction with his handle on the offense he’s learning, he’s operating in a “following role” while Kirk Cousins leads the team’s top unit. He championed the collaborative approach with which the Raiders quarterbacks are competing, focusing on improving every day, every rep, every handoff, every throw and every play.

Again, Mendoza was poised and precise in 11-on-11 with the second team, ripping completions to the first and second levels before capping practice Thursday with a pair of incomplete passes. As training camp continues for the Raiders, so does Mendoza’s development as No. 1 pick in this year’s NFL draft.

“Obviously, just the command of the offense,” offensive coordinator Andrew Janocko said Wednesday when asked what he has noticed with Mendoza’s growth. “Him being able to articulate things. How he sees it. He sees it in real time, takes it from the meeting room and on the board in the film, brings it out here and is able to see the picture and then tie his footwork to that.”

Mendoza hasn’t been a backup since his redshirt freshman season at California, midway through which he became the starter en route to his breakout at Indiana. He handled reps with the third-team offense during OTAs and minicamp, observing Cousins and fourth-year quarterback Aidan O’Connell, now the third-team quarterback.

With several weeks between minicamp last month and training camp this month to acclimate, Mendoza pored over coach Klint Kubiak’s playbook – reporting to camp last week no longer feeling “like a new rookie on the scene.”

Added Mendoza: “When you have a better understanding of the schematics and the scheme of why you’re calling the play, what the play is, you’re able to be more comfortable and calm. … I still need to improve on my protection intelligence and my checks there, but creating a larger and better understanding of the schematics has helped me calm down, know where my outs are and be more confident in general.”

Accustomed to shotgun formations in college, Mendoza is also finding comfort under center, adjusting his footwork to optimize effectiveness in Kubiak’s zone-running, play-action offense. Mendoza credited Raiders centers – Tyler Linderbaum, Will Putnam, Jordan Meredith and Trey Zuhn III – for servicing him with extra snaps beyond those built into the practice plan.

“That has helped me a lot,” Mendoza said, pressing his wrists together at the podium inside a tent by the outdoor practice field, seemingly ready to receive another snap. “Rather than having to worry about getting the snap, especially when it’s early on, like ‘Oh, man, 50 percent of this play, I need to get the snap, or the play doesn’t go.’ … I believe in my preparation and believe in the preparation the other centers have done as well.”

Along with the Raiders and their plan for his development, starting quaterback or not.

“I’m just trying to do my part to focus on the next rep and do everything that I possibly can to prepare myself to be the best asset for my team,” he said. “And whatever decision is made at the end, I’m all for it. I just want the team to win. So, that’s where I’m at.”

Contact Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on X.