Fernando Mendoza is overrated
I predict that Fernando Mendoza will be taken first overall in tonight's 2026 NFL Draft by the Las Vegas Raiders.
Kidding, him going first has been such a foregone conclusion that saying so hardly qualifies as me calling my shot. *However*, not all NFL minds think he would necessarily go first in previous years, and that's worth unpacking.
I know I know, that doesn't mean that he's overrated per se, but let's look at where Mendoza would have fallen amongst the 2024 and 2025 NFL Draft classes (pulling from the some of the Daniel Jeremiah's (NFL Network Analyst) recent thoughts).
Fernando Mendoza vs the 2024 NFL Draft QBs
According to Daniel Jeremiah, Mendoza would have fallen in the, admittedly stacked, 2024 NFL Draft. Specifically, he would have been the 4th QB taken overall, behind the likes of Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, and Caleb Williams (who were drafted 1st, 2nd, and 3rd overall, respectively).
"So, Mendoza would be 4. I had it Caleb, Drake, Jayden in that order. [Mendoza] would be fourth," Daniel Jeremiah said on the most recent Pardon My Take podcast.
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Clearly, this year's draft is significantly weaker than that quarterback-stacked '24 class. Jeremiah underlined this, explaining how deep in the draft he thinks the 2nd and 3rd quarterbacks taken this year will go.
"I rank them, Mendoza 1, then there's a pretty good gap," Daniel Jeremiah predicted in the recent podcast episode. "I can tell you right now I have [Ty] Simpson at 36, I have Carson Beck next at 74, um, I have [Drew] Aller at 94, and [Garrett] Nussmeyer at 101."
Team needs have obviously shifted, but NFL organizations are always keen to take a talented quarterback early, so that drop off tells you all you need to know about how evaluators feel about QBs 2-5 and beyond.
Daniel Jeremiah puts Fernando Mendoza ahead of Cam Ward
Finally, Daniel Jeremiah ruled on whether Fernando Mendoza would have gone ahead or behind of Cam Ward, the first pick in last year's 2025 NFL Draft (and current Titan's starting QB).
I had a higher grade on Fernando [Mendoza] than on Cam [Ward]
There you have it. So, while Mendoza doesn't shine as much in a stacked draft class (2024), he might still have gone first in another, less competitive year for QBs (like 2025).
Do with that what you will. More coverage to come.
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This story was originally published April 23, 2026 at 6:54 PM.