North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick had surprising take on Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza before the Raiders are on the clock at No. 1 in April.
North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick provided a sober take on Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Mendoza appeared to lock up the No. 1 pick in the draft, which the quarterback-needy Las Vegas Raiders hold, when No. 1 Indiana knocked off No. 5 Oregon 56-22 in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Peach Bowl on Friday night.
Mendoza threw for 177 yards and five touchdowns in the win, tossing only three incompletions.
Mendoza, a transfer from California, outplayed the expected No. 2 quarterback in the 2026 class, Dante Moore (if the Ducks signal-caller enters the draft), who threw for 285 yards, two touchdowns and one interception and lost two fumbles.
During an appearance on the "Let's Go!" podcast released on Monday, Belichick cautioned listeners that there is a long pre-draft process waiting for Mendoza. He wasn't ready to crown him the No. 1 pick.
"I'm not really sure, Jim (Gray)," Belichick said of Mendoza going No. 1. "I think there's obviously a lot of work to do on the draft between now and the end of April. So, you know, all teams will do their due diligence. There's so many factors that go into draft choices.
"And a lot of it's what's happened in the past, but a lot of it's the projection of how it's going to go in the future and how certain players fit into the system that each team has and how they think they'll develop and so forth and so on. So it's all the boards aren't the same."
Belichick noted that different teams will rank players differently.
There could be a surprise coming on draft night.
Based on his body of work this season, Mendoza appears to be the frontrunner to become the first quarterback taken in April. The Heisman Trophy-winner has thrown for 3,349 yards, 41 touchdowns and six interceptions.
Belichick is dealing with his own decision at quarterback this offseason after Gio Lopez hit the transfer portal and landed with Wake Forest. UNC recently landed former Texas A&M signal-caller Miles O'Neill and signed former Wisconsin quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. for 2026.