The Las Vegas Raiders will be selecting Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 pick. How does he stack up to other first-round QBs from the last five years?
At this point, it would be a surprise to everyone if the Las Vegas Raiders selected somebody other than Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 pick in this year’s National Football League draft.
The Raiders will try to play it like they are looking at other players or quarterbacks like Oregon QB Dante Moore, but nobody believes that for a second. Mendoza is the top QB prospect in the draft and it’s not close.
But how does he stack up compared to other QB prospects drafted in the first round over the past five years? ESPN’s Matt Miller ranked all 17 of them and placed Mendoza in the mix based only on pre-draft hype with the help of NFL scouts, executives and analysts.
Miller ranked Mendoza eighth behind the Chicago Bears’ Caleb Williams, Jacksonville Jaguars’ Trevor Lawrence, Washington Commanders’ Jayden Daniels, New England Patriots’ Drake Maye, Carolina Panthers’ Bryce Young, free agent Zach Wilson and Houston Texans’ C.J. Stroud.
“The top quarterback in the current draft class, Mendoza hasn't received the hype of former No. 1 overall picks but is deserving of all the love as he enters his pre-draft cycle,” Miller wrote Saturday. “Mendoza is a clean, crisp passer who excels with pinpoint accuracy, on-time decision-making and enough mobility to threaten defenses. ‘He'll bore you to death and then beat you by 40 points,’ said an AFC East scout.”
While Mendoza is clearly the guy of this draft class, this comes after one year of total dominance. It’s not like he was bad during his first two seasons at Cal, he was just outstanding with Indiana.
Mendoza blew his past season-long performances out of the water in 2025, leading the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) in touchdowns (41), QB rating (90.3), passer rating (182.9) and adjusted yards per attempt (10.78). His 9.3 yards gained per attempt was best in the Big Ten Conference and his 3,535 passing yards were fourth-best (15th in the nation).
Mendoza is incredible at throwing through tight windows, completing 72 percent of his passes, and he excelled in the red zone with his perfect 27-to-0 touchdown-to-interception ratio. He guided the Hoosiers to their first National Championship in school history and took home the Heisman Trophy in the process.
One of his qualities that doesn’t get enough love is his toughness, which was on full display during the title game against the Miami Hurricanes, scoring on a 12-yard rush to put Indiana in front for good. He broke tackles and bulled his way to the goal line, putting his body on the line for the win.
It could end up being a tough year for Mendoza if the organization doesn’t shore up the offensive line, but he will have the playmakers around him to succeed in his first season.