Fernando Mendoza has it all at the moment. He is the Heisman Trophy winner, his undefeated Indiana Hoosiers are the favorite to win the national championship, and he is the consensus choice to be the #1 overall pick for the Las Vegas Raiders in the 2026 NFL Draft.
But Bomani Jones is not convinced that he should earn that last accolade.
With the Raiders and Tom Brady on the clock, the odds are greatly stacked in the favor of them selecting a quarterback in this year’s NFL Draft. But what once was touted as one of the great classes in draft history led by Arch Manning slowly fell by the wayside thanks to tepid performances and stars staying in school.
However, Fernando Mendoza was able to separate himself from the pack both as a college performer and pro prospect. It is now universally expected that he will hear his name called first later on in the spring.
But on his show, The Right Time with Bomani Jones, the host shared his doubts about how Fernando Mendoza will perform at the next level.
“The Raiders, I got people asking me… Fernando Mendoza, is he what the Raiders need? I watched Mendoza there. And Mendoza looks like something I’ve seen very many times. He’s a very good college quarterback. I know what the number one pick in the draft looks like. That ain’t it,” Jones said.
“Even if you think Cam Ward’s not going to be that guy, you look at Cam Ward with the Titans and you’re like, ‘oh, that guy was the number one pick in the draft.’ You see that. Mendoza? Eeehh, I don’t know,” he concluded.
If there’s one thing you can say about Fernando Mendoza, it’s that his style of play doesn’t quite look the part of an elite NFL prospect. Nobody is going to confuse his arm strength with JaMarcus Russell or his playmaking ability like Josh Allen or his smoothness in the pocket with Drake Maye. Quite honestly, he just looks awkward out there at times. Even his interviews are, well, unique.
But another thing that’s indisputable is the results. Mendoza won the Big Ten Championship Game in a Heisman duel with Julian Sayin and Ohio State. He then went 14-16 in the Rose Bowl demolition of Alabama with 192 yards and 3 TDs. And he has led Indiana to the impossible precipice of a national championship. If he’s able to duplicate any of that success with the Raiders, then it won’t matter how it looks.
About Matt Yoder