Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the first pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, has a lot of film study in his future, and some of it will have nothing to do with Klint Kubiak’s offense.He can start by watching “Heavyweights,” a 1995 Disney movie about overweight kids getting revenge on a camp counselor. Really, any movie in the feel-good or sports category from the ’90s is liable to come up.“I don’t think I got any of the references,” Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. said.Penix is the most recent alum of the Kirk Cousins School of Football, which includes access to nearly 15 years of meticulously detailed game-plan notes and 171 NFL starts worth of experience — but also extracurricular courses such as Obscure Movie Lines and Deep Cuts From the “Wizard of Oz” Soundtrack.It can be a lot for a child of this century to absorb.“When Kirk got in the league, I was 12 years old,” said Penix, who was drafted in 2024, the same year Atlanta signed Cousins to a free-agent contract.Penix and Cousins played together for two seasons with the Falcons, and the transition process on the field was never as smooth as the franchise hoped it would be. Penix replaced a benched Cousins in Year 1. Cousins was released after Year 2, with two years left on his deal, and the general manager and head coach who acquired both were fired this offseason.The Raiders are hoping the Cousins-Mendoza pairing is less messy for all parties. Despite how things ended in Atlanta, Penix hopes it will be.Mendoza “is going to get a great guy, before the football player,” Penix said. “You look at Kirk as a man, as a husband, as a father — he has always been great. Obviously, for Fernando, his first year coming up, I know he’s gonna be able to work with Kirk, and Kirk’s going to be there for him.”Despite Cousins’ surprise that Penix was drafted so high almost immediately after his signing, Cousins took Penix under his wing immediately in Atlanta. The quarterbacks lived in the same Atlanta neighborhood and sometimes rode together to Mercedes-Benz Stadium for home games or the airport for away games. After head coach Raheem Morris informed Cousins that he was giving Penix the starting QB job late in the 2024 season, Cousins called Penix to offer his support while driving home from the meeting, Cousins’ wife, Julie, told Netflix for the “Quarterback” documentary.How else did Cousins support the younger Penix?“The person that he was for me, just helping me make sure I was locked in each and every day, making sure that I understood some of the reads, some of the things that you would get in the league,” Penix said. “Kirk is definitely gonna help (Mendoza) understand getting through your reads, understanding when to eliminate different route concepts so that you can get to the back side and continue to play great football.”Cousins was replaced by Penix after one of the worst stretches of his career — a five-game span in which he threw nine interceptions and one touchdown — but teammates lauded his handling of the situation.“With Kirk being so supportive and helping Mike out, it has been super huge,” Falcons running back Bijan Robinson said at the time. “Sometimes when a switch like that happens, one guy will be upset or in his feelings, but Kirk was right there for him every step of the way.”