{"id":258393,"date":"2025-12-12T12:40:41","date_gmt":"2025-12-12T17:40:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=258393"},"modified":"2025-12-12T12:40:41","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T17:40:41","slug":"big-ten-star-could-finally-break-the-new-york-jets-quarterback-curse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/12\/12\/big-ten-star-could-finally-break-the-new-york-jets-quarterback-curse\/","title":{"rendered":"Big Ten Star Could Finally Break the New York Jets\u2019 Quarterback Curse"},"content":{"rendered":"

Indiana\u2019s Fernando Mendoza is expected to be one of the first players taken in the 2026 NFL Draft. If he somehow winds up with the New York Jets, he could end the team\u2019s dreaded quarterback curse.<\/p>\n

Bobby Bishop<\/a> of Dynasty Nerds put together a mock draft recently. He has the Jets trading up to the No. 1 overall pick and selecting Mendoza:<\/p>\n

\u201cNew York Jets receive: 2026 1.01
\nTennessee Titans<\/a> receive: 1.07, 1.23, 2027 IND 1st<\/p>\n

No. 1 | New York Jets (Via TEN\u2014Mock)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fernando Mendoza | QB | Indiana | 6\u20195\u2019\u2019 | 225 Lbs<\/strong><\/p>\n

Could the New York Jets pull off a massive trade up to choose the best (and maybe only) franchise QB in the draft? In my mock trade, they utilize the Sauce Gardner<\/a> picks to get it done, and they hold onto their own 2027 1st round selection in the process. If the New York Jets are able to execute a deal like this, I believe they will select Fernando Mendoza, the top quarterback in the 2026 NFL Draft.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Jets certainly need a quarterback. But it remains to be seen whether they\u2019ll trade up to get one.<\/p>\n

Fernando Mendiza Could Finally Break the New York Jets\u2019 Quarterback Curse<\/h2>\n

History of Jets Quarterbacks<\/h3>\n

Back in the day, the Jets had a Hall of Fame quarterback in Joe Namath. \u201cBroadway Joe\u201d spent 12 seasons with the team from 1965 to 1976. He led the Jets to a victory<\/a> in Super Bowl III and was the first player to ever throw for over 4,000 yards in a season (1967). Since Namath left, the Jets have never had a quarterback reach his level.<\/p>\n

Speaking of Hall of Fame quarterbacks, the Jets later employed two: Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers<\/a>. However, both players, of course, are known for their time with the Green Bay Packers.<\/div>\n
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Favre spent one season in New York (2008). Despite an 8-3 start, the team missed the playoffs as he played with a torn biceps tendon and threw a league-high 22 interceptions.<\/p>\n

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Rodgers later played two years with the Jets. In his debut with the team, he suffered a season-ending Achilles injury on just his fourth offensive snap.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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A few other Jets quarterbacks have suffered major injuries over the years. Vinny Testaverde tore his Achilles in the 1999 season opener and Chad Pennington went down with a season-ending shoulder injury in 2005.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The team has also had a couple of top-three picks (Sam Darnold<\/a> and Zach Wilson) who turned out to be busts in New York. Darnold, though, eventually became a starter with the Minnesota Vikings and now the Seattle Seahawks<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Mark Sanchez, who was drafted fifth overall in 2009, wasn’t necessarily a bust, but failed to live up to expectations. After leading the Jets to consecutive AFC Championship games in his first two seasons, his career quickly declined.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Can Mendoza End the Mess?<\/h3>\n
\"Fernando
Nov 8, 2025; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) runs with the ball during the fourth quarter against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O’Haren-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Fernando Mendoza has put together a spectacular season with the Indiana Hoosiers. He has thrown for 2,980 yards and 33 touchdowns while rushing for six scores.<\/p>\n

Mendoza was named<\/a> the Associated Press Player of the Year and is the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy. In addition, he led an unbeaten and top-ranked Indiana to its first Big Ten championship since 1967 and the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff.<\/p>\n

Mendoza would be a huge upgrade over the Jets\u2019 Justin Fields<\/a> and Tyrod Taylor. He\u2019s clutch, accurate, and is a superb quick-game processor. Plus, he possesses a great blend of poise and playmaking.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

New York will likely acquire a veteran like Kyler Murray, who could be a good fit<\/a>. But don’t rule out the possibility of landing Mendoza. He has the potential to become a superstar and the franchise\u2019s best signal-caller since Namath.<\/p>\n

Main Image: Robert Goddin – Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If the New York Jets find a way to draft Fernando Mendoza, the Indiana Hoosiers star could possibly end the franchise’s quarterback curse.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4890,"featured_media":244664,"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":[36,6],"tags":[33710,7330],"class_list":["post-258393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-news","category-jets","tag-fernando-mendoza","tag-new-york-jets-news"],"modified_by":"Mike Roberts","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258393","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\/4890"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=258393"}],"version-history":[{"count":71,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258393\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":258603,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258393\/revisions\/258603"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/244664"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=258393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=258393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=258393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}