{"id":247919,"date":"2025-09-24T15:00:17","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T19:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=247919"},"modified":"2025-09-25T10:25:14","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T14:25:14","slug":"indiana-hoosiers-qb-fernando-mendoza-2026-nfl-draft-profile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/09\/24\/indiana-hoosiers-qb-fernando-mendoza-2026-nfl-draft-profile\/","title":{"rendered":"Indiana Hoosiers QB Fernando Mendoza 2026 NFL Draft Profile"},"content":{"rendered":"

Indiana burst onto the national scene last season, going 11-2 and making the College Football Playoff. The Hoosiers are showing that 2024 wasn’t a fluke and are gearing up for a run at the Big Ten<\/a> title. They jumped to 11th in the AP Poll following a 63-10 rout over Illinois<\/a> to improve to 4-0. The biggest reason for Indiana’s hot start is quarterback Fernando Mendoza<\/a>, who has looked flawless through four games. Mendoza came into 2025 largely overlooked, but he’s now in the discussion for the best quarterback in this class. His early-season production is undeniable, but can he cement himself as the best signal-caller in the 2026 NFL Draft?<\/p>\n

2026 NFL Draft: Fernando Mendoza Player Profile<\/h2>\n

Background<\/h3>\n

Mendoza wasn’t a highly-touted prospect coming out of Columbus (Florida). He was a three-star recruit and the 134th-ranked quarterback in the Class of 2022<\/a>. Mendoza went across the country and committed to California. After redshirting in 2022, he saw his first collegiate action in 2023. Mendoza entered his redshirt freshman season third on the depth chart, but took over as the starter midway through 2023. In eight starts, he completed 63% of his passes for 1,708 yards, 14 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. 2024 gave Mendoza his first opportunity to be the full-time starter, and he improved upon his 2023 campaign. He threw for 3,004 yards, 16 touchdowns, and six interceptions while completing 68.7% of his throws in 11 games.<\/p>\n

After three seasons in Berkeley, Mendoza entered the transfer portal. He was much more sought-after this time around, being the fourth-ranked transfer quarterback in 2025. Mendoza joined Curt Cignetti<\/a> and the Hoosiers to replace Kurtis Rourke<\/a> under center. Through four games, he’s been as dominant as any player in the nation, leading the FBS with 14 touchdown passes,<\/a> along with having 975 passing yards, no interceptions, and completing 76.8% of his passes. Mendoza is fresh off back-to-back games with five touchdown passes.<\/p>\n

Strengths<\/h3>\n
\"Fernando
Aug 30, 2025; Bloomington, Indiana, USA; Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) warms up prior to the game against the Old Dominion Monarchs at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The first thing that stands out when watching Mendoza is his arm strength. He generates exceptional velocity on his throws, allowing him to thread passes into tight windows. Mendoza is an effective passer on all three levels, routinely hitting short, intermediate, and deep throws. Intermediate throws are where he’s at his best, completing NFL-caliber passes in the more congested middle of the field. Mendoza’s accuracy is also impressive, as his high completion percentage suggests. He throws his receivers away from coverage, placing the ball where defenders can’t make a play. Mendoza has the ideal frame for a franchise quarterback, measuring in at 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds.<\/p>\n

Weaknesses<\/h3>\n

Although Mendoza’s arm strength and accuracy are evident, they can get him into trouble. He can hit every throw on the field, but there are times he puts the ball in harm’s way. His aggressive playing style is both a positive and a negative that can result in both highlight-worthy throws and questionable interceptions. While he’s a decent athlete, his mobility isn’t elite. Mendoza mostly wins from the pocket and isn’t a player who consistently scares defenses as a runner. He also struggled with taking sacks last season, being the second-most sacked quarterback in 2o24<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Overview<\/h3>\n

Mendoza’s draft stock has skyrocketed since the start of the 2025 season. His combination of arm talent, accuracy, and size makes him a first-round caliber prospect. He’s improved upon some of his weaknesses, as his interceptions have declined each season. While he isn’t a generational athlete like some others at the position, the upside of a franchise signal-caller is definitely there. His game is similar to Jared Goff’s<\/a>, both being excellent pocket passers who aren’t afraid to attack the middle of the field. It’s tough to say who the top quarterback prospect in a given draft class is, as different teams can have different answers. With other top prospects at the position having underwhelming starts in 2025, there’s a real chance Mendoza is the first quarterback selected in the daft next April.<\/p>\n

Main Photo: Rich Janzaruk\/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Indiana burst onto the national scene last season, going 11-2 and making the College Football Playoff. The Hoosiers are showing that 2024 wasn’t a fluke and are gearing up for a run at the Big Ten title. They jumped to 11th in the AP Poll following a 63-10 rout over Illinois to improve to 4-0. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5581,"featured_media":248011,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1647,6431],"tags":[33533,33710,32997],"class_list":["post-247919","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-draft","category-nfl-teams","tag-2026-nfl-draft","tag-fernando-mendoza","tag-indiana-hoosiers"],"modified_by":"Michael Kovacs, ADMIN","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247919","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5581"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=247919"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247919\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":248012,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247919\/revisions\/248012"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/248011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=247919"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=247919"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=247919"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}