Luck/Herbert comp; 50-start threshold within 15–20 games; ideal mentorship situation.

Matt Waldman evaluates Mendoza as one of two quarterbacks in the past 7 years capable of starting right away and surviving a tough situation; he has 35 college starts and is essentially one season away from reaching the 50-start threshold (college + pro combined) that Waldman cites as the Drew Brees benchmark for quarterback readiness. Waldman projects Mendoza will likely shine within his first 15–20 NFL games once he accumulates sufficient experience. Waldman credits Mendoza with elite arm talent, mobility, power running ability, speed and acceleration, strong accuracy, proficiency in play-action and spread/shotgun schemes, and the ability to execute on and off script. Bob Harris compares Mendoza's profile to Andrew Luck and Justin Herbert, positioning him as a lofty comp in that range; Mendoza moves more like Luck with less fluidity than Herbert, but is more of a passer in the Luck mold. Harris does not believe Mendoza needs a year to sit, but anticipates he will sit at least one-half to three-quarters of the season as long as Kirk Cousins remains healthy. Mendoza is in a terrific situation because young quarterbacks benefit from sitting, learning, and acclimating to a new environment; Cousins brings strong knowledge of the San Francisco/Kubiak-style offense and will serve as a good teacher and journeyman mentor. Mendoza appears smart enough to extract what he needs from Cousins and discard the rest.