Former IU football quarterback Fernando Mendoza is just a little too perfect for NFL teams lower in the 2026 draft order.
With his Heisman Trophy and national championship season paired with elite skills, nerves of steel and an impeccable off the field persona, it seems only one team — the Las Vegas Raiders — will have a chance to select Mendoza in April.
But other teams are still trying.
One approach would be to offer a trade to the Raiders to obtain their rights to the No. 1 overall pick. But in this era of football, when you must have a good quarterback to be competitive, it seems there’s little chance the Raiders will give up the opportunity to select Mendoza with the first pick.
So it seems hopeless for the other 31 teams in the league, right?
They are getting creative.
Being the No. 1 overall pick more often than not means a player is going to a downtrodden NFL franchise with a long history of losing. The Raiders? The Jets? The Browns?
Those are places quarterbacks go to die, right?
What if Mendoza didn’t want to play for the Raiders?
Mendoza was asked during an interview with CBS Sports on Friday the most bizarre feedback he got from teams at the NFL Draft Combine this week in Indianapolis.
One of the most common ways players fall in the draft to a spot lower than where they were expected to be chosen is an off field issue that brings their character in question. The last thing an NFL team wants is one of its top players to be a problem, and end up being a bad draft choice.
And that’s the angle one team tried with Mendoza.
“It was, ‘Hey, maybe you should get arrested,’ and I was a little confused, but then I was like, the slide … so you could slide in the draft,” Mendoza said.
Mendoza declined to reveal which team made the suggestion, but it doesn’t sound like he’s taking the advice.
“So, hopefully I don’t get arrested,” he added.
While the Raiders have had just two seasons with a winning record in the last 23 years, the franchise does have a special appeal to Mendoza.
Although he’s from Miami, Mendoza was born in Boston and he grew up idolizing legendary Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who is now a minority owner of the Raiders.
So the chances of Mendoza going out of his way to get arrested seem pretty slim.
“Yeah, I mean, who hasn’t admired Tom Brady? I mean, more Super Bowl rings than anybody … anybody!” Mendoza said. “So, that opportunity would be fantastic. Tom Brady, I believe, is the greatest quarterback of all time — by a wide margin — and to be able to have the opportunity to be mentored by him, would … mean so much.
“Especially to learn, and I’m all about learning. So from Day 1, you know, I’ve got to learn a lot. It’s gonna be a long journey, and to potentially have a mentor like that, it would be pretty impressive and pretty meaningful.”
The 2026 NFL Draft is in Pittsburgh April 23-25, and the Mendoza/Raiders marriage seems inevitable.
If he can keep his record clean, Mendoza will hear NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell call his name for the first overall pick.
But until then, Mendoza wants you to believe he’s just like anyone else embarking on a new career.
“Right now, I’m unemployed,” he said a bit more cheerfully than your average recent college grad. “I have no job.”
For complete coverage of IU football, GO HERE.
The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”
- You can follow us on X: @daily_hoosier and find us on Facebook and Instagram
- Seven ways to support completely free IU coverage at no cost to you.
