Raiders' Klint Kubiak says Brock Bowers is 'a football robot from heaven,' Fernando Mendoza is 'as advertised'
Klint Kubiak answered questions Wednesday after his Las Vegas Raiders’ latest OTA. As reporters probed about the first-year head coach’s approach to this phase of the offseason, he responded tamely, occasionally dishing out the coachspeak that sounds like a broken record at this time of year.
But inquiries about specific players resulted in more colorful commentary from Kubiak, who especially effused about tight end Brock Bowers.
In fact, Kubiak authored arguably the quote of the day when gushing about the 23-year-old.
“He's kind of a football robot, in a good way,” Kubiak said. “He's a football robot from heaven.”
Kubiak continued: “He's a Cadillac out there. We got to get the most out of Brock. Wherever he goes, he's been successful — in college, in high school, whoever's coached him. So just can't say enough great things about him. Love his work ethic. He's a standard-bearer.”
The Raiders selected Bowers 13th overall out of Georgia in the 2024 draft. While with the Bulldogs, he won the John Mackey Award — given annually to the best tight end in college football — not once, but twice, as well as back-to-back national championships.
He’s made the Pro Bowl each of his first two seasons in the NFL. Bowers even earned that recognition last season despite playing in only 12 games. In 2024, he ascended to first-team All-Pro status after piling up 112 catches, 1,194 receiving yards and 5 receiving touchdowns as a rookie. In 2025, he dealt with a knee injury that sidelined him for four weeks early in the season and ultimately landed him on injured reserve in late December.
Still, his 176 career receptions are the most a tight end’s recorded in his first two NFL seasons. Plus, his 1,874 career receiving yards are the third most a player at his position has logged through two campaigns. Pro Football Hall of Famer Mike Ditka holds the top spot with 1,980 receiving yards in that span, according to NFL.com.
Bowers has put up gaudy numbers while catching passes from the likes of Geno Smith, Gardner Minshew II and Aidan O’Connell. His starting quarterback this season has yet to be determined.
Kubiak on Fernando Mendoza: ‘He has not disappointed’
Kubiak didn’t provide reporters with a quarterback competition timeline on Wednesday, but, according to ESPN’s Ryan McFadden, he said, “It’s going to reveal itself, especially in training camp.”
That position battle centers around veteran Kirk Cousins, whom the Raiders signed this offseason, and rookie Fernando Mendoza, whom Las Vegas took with the top pick in this year’s draft.
#Raiders HC Klint Kubiak didn't give a specific timeline on when he would like to name a starting QB, but said: "It's going to reveal itself, especially in training camp."
— Ryan McFadden (@ryanmcfadden_) May 20, 2026
Kubiak lit up when discussing Cousins’ passion for the game, and how it showed up during Wednesday’s OTA.
“He's a professional,” Kubiak said of Cousins, a four-time Pro Bowler who’s embarking on his 15th NFL season in a career that’s included stops with Washington, the Minnesota Vikings and the Atlanta Falcons.
“He's played a lot of football. He's a leader that we're counting on right now. You see that side of him when it gets competitive. That was fun to get that move-the-ball period and get guys off of scripts and see how they respond. And you see the fire come out, and that's what I want from our guys.”
Cousins has embraced his opportunity as a mentor and perhaps placeholder at quarterback in Vegas with an open mind. At some point, whether that’s sooner or later, Mendoza will get the keys to the offense.
Mendoza’s coming off a storybook season at Indiana, where he became the Heisman Trophy winner and a national champion for a program that’s completed one of the more unlikely turnarounds in sports.
“I think anything that you put in front of him, he's going to attack it,” Kubiak said of Mendoza. “So anything that's new, he spends extra time on it. You can tell he fixes things from one day to the next. Very coachable, and that could be said for all those quarterbacks in the room.”
Kubiak noted Mendoza is “as advertised.”
“He has not disappointed,” Kubiak said. “He's working his tail off. It's very important to him. Asks a lot of great questions. When he gets on the field, he's no BS. He's all ball.”
