If anyone is looking for Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza right now, then he’s probably nose-deep in his team’s playbook ahead of Monday night’s College Football Playoff national championship game against the Miami Hurricanes, which will be played at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.
Mendoza, who won this season’s Heisman Trophy as college football’s most outstanding player, likely has a very bright future in the NFL ahead of him. There has not been any talk from Mendoza about not going into the NFL after his season ends, and it’s safe to say that an NFL team will have its eyes on taking Mendoza in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Raiders Might Have Their Eyes On Fernando Mendoza
When NFL teams start looking at college players to draft, the team with the No. 1 overall selection in the 2026 NFL Draft is the Las Vegas Raiders. According to a PFSN mock draft, Mendoza is projected to be chosen by the Raiders.
It makes sense that Las Vegas would want Mendoza because the Raiders did not have much luck with Geno Smith as their starting quarterback in the 2025 NFL season. Additionally, the Raiders are going to have a new head coach. Pete Carroll was fired after just one season with the team.
Adding further intrigue, seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady is a member of the Raiders’ ownership group. The possibility of Mendoza receiving guidance from one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history underscores the potential significance of this pairing.
PFSN writer Josh Weil has provided insight into why Mendoza may ultimately find himself wearing silver and black.
“With the Raiders securing the top pick in the draft, it feels inevitable that they will go with Heisman Trophy-winning QB Fernando Mendoza with the pick,” Weil wrote. “Mendoza has shone brighter as the lights have gotten brighter, and the Raiders should be excited to bring in a winner.”
Ahead of Monday night’s College Football Playoff showdown, Miami head coach Mario Cristobal had some nice things to say about Mendoza.
“He combines everything you would want in an elite quarterback,” Cristobal said on Monday. “He’s two steps ahead of the defense at all times. He can make you pay with his feet or his arm. He understands protection really well. He anticipates like none other.”
Against two of the nation’s top defenses in the playoff — Alabama and Oregon — Mendoza has completed 86.1% of his passes. He has thrown 8 touchdowns without an interception and has led Indiana to within one game of playing for a national title.
According to the PFSN CFB Offense Impact Metric, Indiana, with Mendoza running the offense in the regular season, had a 93.5 impact score and graded out to an A. According to those metrics, Indiana had the No. 1 offense in college football.
When it came to the PFSN CFB QB Impact Metric, Mendoza finished the regular season in the No. 2 spot, behind versatile Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia. Mendoza finished the regular season with an impact score of 93.3 and graded out to an A.
All signs point toward Mendoza joining the Raiders, as his NFL career could begin after what he hopes is a successful national championship final against the Hurricanes.
