Even though the 2026 NFL Draft is still a few days away, it’s been abundantly clear that the Las Vegas Raiders will draft Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the first overall pick.
Ahead of the draft, Mendoza spoke with sports personality Rich Eisen and shared his thoughts on Tom Brady becoming his new boss.
Fernando Mendoza on His Relationship with Tom Brady
On Thursday night, Mendoza will look to complete the triple-crown: Winning the Heisman, the National Championship, and being the first overall pick all in the same year. At this point, it’s basically a guarantee that he’ll be a Raider.
On “The Rich Eisen Show,” Eisen sat down with the quarterback and asked him what it would mean for him to play for a team that Brady is part of running. Here’s Mendoza’s response:
“It would mean the world,” Mendoza said. “Tom Brady has stated that he’s going to pour into whatever quarterback they take… and have the opportunity to be great. If I get selected by the Raiders, he’d be a boss, so it wouldn’t be how six-year-old Fernando envisioned it, being best friends, but it’ll be cool. And I want to be pushed to be the best quarterback that I can become, say what I’m all about, and live that experience, so [I’m] really looking forward to it if I get that opportunity.”
💻 @fernandomendoza
Only two players have won the Heisman Trophy, went undefeated as National Champions and were then drafted 1st overall — we talked with the potential third about his pre-#NFLDraft mindset:#NFL #RaiderNation pic.twitter.com/AXkm87W5Lt
— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) April 20, 2026
Eisen followed up by asking if he’s FaceTimed Brady, to which Mendoza said as follows:
“He was on FaceTime for around 15 seconds at the combine interview, just saying ‘Hello, good luck,’ and that he’s wishing me the best. It means a lot because not a lot of owners are at those combine interviews or even calling for those combine interviews, so to see the involvement that team has with its ownership from the top down is very invigorating and very exciting.”
Even though the quarterback class is weak for the 2026 NFL Draft, Mendoza showed that he is worthy of the first pick. In the 2025 season, he completed 72.0% of his passes for 3,535 passing yards, 41 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions, while adding 276 rushing yards and 7 rushing touchdowns. According to PFSN’s CFB Quarterback Impact Metric, he ranked as the second-best quarterback with an impact score of 93.3 and a letter grade of A.
Now, he’ll be heading to a team that has offensive talent like Ashton Jeanty and Brock Bowers, but has lacked the results. According to PFSN’s NFL Offensive Impact Metric, the Raiders ranked as the second-worst offense with an impact score of 56.3 and a letter grade of F.
The addition of Mendoza will be vital to the Raiders’ long-term success, and the young quarterback will have the best mentor along the way in Brady.
