INDIANAPOLIS — Some NFL draft prospects get worn out by the league’s marathon draft process.Fernando Mendoza embraced it. He did the interviews, made the rounds and firmed up his draft night plans with his trademark smile and positive attitude. Now all he can do is wait to see what happens Thursday night.The Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback and overwhelming favorite to be taken No. 1 overall said Monday he’s enjoyed each step along the path as he anticipates starting the next chapter of his football journey — whether it’s in Las Vegas backing up Kirk Cousins or going to some other team.“ It’s been long, but it’s been great because a job interview usually is a couple of weeks or even a single day in the office, but this job interview has been a couple of months,” Mendoza told The Associated Press. “The teams know everything about you, and that’s been my favorite part. They can peel back the layers and see the true you. It’s been great to test my football IQ, my football knowledge.”The Raiders — or any of the three other teams he spoke to — likely found little to quibble with.In fact, Mendoza and pharmaceutical company Pfizer announced Monday they had formed a new partnership with the quarterback becoming a spokesman urging people to get early cancer screenings. It seems a natural pairing given that he has watched someone close to him battle cancer, his mother is still battling multiple sclerosis and his father is a doctor.Two commercials have been cut and are scheduled to air Thursday night, and Mendoza said he expects this campaign, Every Breakthrough Matters, to expand, potentially into other health battles.Still, Mendoza’s mind is mostly on football though he’s not dropping any hints about whether he knows what the Raiders are thinking.While he’s met three times with Las Vegas officials since leading the Indiana Hoosiers to their first national title in mid-January, the Boston-born Mendoza also met his boyhood favorite, Raiders minority owner Tom Brady, who got an in-person look at Mendoza at the championship game.He’s also spoken with the New York Jets, Arizona Cardinals and Cleveland Browns, who hold the second, third and sixth overall picks and could be in the market for a new franchise quarterback. …
