Fernando Mendoza

The Player

Mendoza is a gifted player with a coveted blend of size, arm energy, and straight-line running ability. His mental and physical toughness are his top traits. He shows no fear in the pocket and never flinches when pressure is bearing down on him. His resiliency is uncanny, as is his ability to compartmentalize. He’s a four-quarter flatline guy—nothing rattles him. He delivered in clutch moments time and again in 2025, especially on the road and in the College Football Playoff.

The grandson of Cuban immigrants, Mendoza was a two-star recruit out of Christopher Columbus High School in Miami who originally committed to Yale before flipping to Cal, which offered him his only FBS scholarship. He redshirted in 2022 before starting eight games in 2023 and 11 more in 2024. He transferred to Indiana ahead of the 2025 season and delivered a Heisman Trophy–winning campaign while leading the Hoosiers to an undefeated national championship season.

For a long-levered quarterback, Mendoza has a beautifully smooth and compulsively repetitive stroke. His delivery mechanics are quite repeatable, which is what makes him so consistent with his ball placement. You notice the consistency of his delivery when you study his tape. He’s lightning fast as he works through his progressions from one side of the field to the next. His height allows him to see the entire field, he trusts his eyes, and he lets it rip when the picture is clear.

Mendoza’s coaches rave about his ability to process and relay information, as well as his ability to make in-game adjustments. When it comes to his arm talent, he has impressive energy and placement on sideline throws (especially from the hash to the opposite sideline). He has elite timing and placement on back-shoulder throws. While he’s not nearly as pinpoint with his ball placement over the middle of the field, he exhibits the requisite anticipation and layering of the ball over the middle and down the seams.

He cut down on his turnover-worthy throws significantly in 2025 compared to his first two seasons at Cal. But he still shows a tendency to force the issue at times, especially when pressure reaches him quickly and he throws off-balance or off his back foot. His biggest area for improvement in the NFL will be his ability to handle interior pressure. Specifically, that split second when a rusher flashes, Mendoza’s eyes drop, and he displays a flicker of panic. And while he’s a running threat when he gets going, he doesn’t have the short-area agility to quickly escape fast-flashing interior pressure. It’s critical that he learn to better manage those situations with pre-snap anticipation.

One concerning analytical nugget: Mendoza’s pressure-to-sack rate of 18.9 percent last season is 36th out of 57 draft-eligible QB prospects, and that number increased to 27.7 percent during his final seven games, which is right around his career rate of 27.1 percent.

Mendoza’s best tape came against Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game. He was sensational, delivering the best individual performance by any QB prospect in any game last season. He took an absolute beating but remained unflappable, making big-time throw after big-time throw.

The Draft

It’s Mendoza and the field when it comes to the 2026 quarterback class. For all intents and purposes, the first overall pick of the 2026 draft is already in—Mendoza is a Raider. 

The Projection

Mendoza’s (past) NFL comp is Matt Ryan. They have striking similarities, particularly their tall, lean frames and their toughness. Both players thrive(d) with the game on the line, and Ryan even had similar mobility coming out of Boston College. If the Raiders support Mendoza properly, he’s capable of achieving heights similar to what Ryan reached in the NFL.