Fernando Mendoza firmly established himself as the top quarterback prospect in the 2026 NFL Draft months ago, winning the Heisman Trophy and leading Indiana to a national title. But if Mendoza opted not to transfer from Cal to Indiana last winter and entered the NFL Draft instead, would he have been as highly-touted of a prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft?
One longtime NFL scout believes so, telling me that Mendoza would’ve been drafted by the Tennessee Titans with the No. 1 overall pick instead of Cam Ward.
“I still think Ward will struggle overall for a while,” the scout told me. “I don’t see an elite processor with him, even though he’s got the arm traits.”
While other league sources I spoke with agreed that Mendoza would have been at the top of last year’s quarterback draft class, not everyone fell in line with that thought process.
“He would have been No. 3 for me last year behind Jaxson Dart and Cam Ward,” an NFL personnel executive told me. “He’s a pocket QB with quick eyes and a quick release. He processes coverage and pressure at a high rate. Good arm strength and excellent accuracy. He’s tough and shows poise in high-stress situations. Excellent make-up. NFL starter.”
Fernando Mendoza on CFP win, NFL prep, how Tom Brady influenced his game
Mendoza will be front and center as the NFL community descends on Indianapolis for the NFL Scouting Combine this week. Even though Mendoza has said he will not throw on the field at Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday, coaches and scouts will get a chance to interact with Mendoza this week, and he’s expected to hold a traditional media session with reporters.
FOX Sports draft analyst Rob Rang praised Mendoza for the gutsy way he played late in games on his way to leading the Hoosiers to an undefeated 16-0 season and the national title, displaying an ability to throw with accuracy and anticipation in critical moments of the game.
“A lot of times you get quarterbacks who don’t have enough courage to throw the ball with anticipation and just trust that they have enough velocity and accuracy to make the throw,” Rang told me. “And he does. … But I do think you need to surround him with some legitimate playmakers to guarantee he’s going to be successful.”
Rang said he would have ranked Mendoza as his top quarterback in last year’s draft.
“I wasn’t a big Cam Ward guy, at least not as much as everyone else,” Rang said. “And I’ve been very impressed by some of the backyard plays that he was again able to make in the NFL, just like he did at Miami and WSU.
“Mendoza maybe isn’t the trick shot artist [that Ward is], however he additionally isn’t as more likely to have the peaks and valleys in his recreation as Cam Ward had. And definitely, Mendoza is a extra gifted passer than Shedeur [Sanders], and I’m by no means stunned he had some success with the Browns. I had Shedeur as the highest quarterback final yr and needed to eat a variety of humble pie when he fell so far as he did. To me, final yr, Mendoza would have been the primary decide had he performed this effectively a yr in the past.”
‘Draft Fernando Mendoza’: Colin’s recommendation to new Raiders HC Klint Kubiak
NFL Community draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah stated he’d have Mendoza a tick over C.J. Stroud and Bryce Young from the 2023 draft. Nonetheless, he would put Mendoza behind Caleb Williams, Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels from the highly-touted 2024 draft.
“I gave him the identical grade that I gave Cam Ward,” Jeremiah stated in a convention name final week. “So, you can’t be extra polar reverse as gamers. With Cam Ward, it was type of the off-schedule magic that he had, to go together with a unfastened, fluid movement. The whole lot he did was clean. He may type of fade away and throw the ball wherever he wished.
“Whereas Mendoza is a bit more robotic in his motion than Cam, however nonetheless has a robust arm. I feel he does a very good job of defending the soccer. Each of them excelled within the RPO recreation. I feel you need to have that ingredient in your offense in case your [Las Vegas Raiders head coach Klint] Kubiak, simply because he’s so comfy and is a superb determination maker there.”
Alongside along with his decision-making, poise and toughness made Mendoza the clear No. 1 quarterback on this yr’s class, the longtime NFL scout instructed me.
“I noticed him stay vs. Oregon in season,” the scout instructed me. “I like what I’ve heard about him character-wise; he’s constructed for each success and adversity. I appreciated his processing and selections. There’s an enormous studying curve coming his approach, however he can deal with it.
“He must be on the prime of this class, I’d suppose, having seen Carson Beck and Cade Klubnik.”
