INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana quarterback and Miami native Fernando Mendoza will likely be the No. 1 pick of the 2026 NFL draft.
But when he humbly answered a question Friday morning at the NFL scouting combine about that potential top selection, he — maybe subconsciously but possibly intentionally — chose a very specific number as another example of where he might get drafted.
“Whatever team drafts me, I’m grateful, whether it’s the No. 1 pick or whether it’s, you know, 199th pick,” Mendoza said at Indiana Convention Center.
One-hundred ninety-nine. That’s famously Tom Brady’s pick to the New England Patriots in the 2000 draft.
Mendoza has long been a known admirer of Brady, considered by most as the NFL’s greatest quarterback despite being largely overlooked in his draft class. And Brady just so happens to be a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, the team that has the top pick in this draft.
When ESPN’s “College GameDay” did a feature on Mendoza in the middle of the past college football season, a family photo of him and brother Alberto at a Dolphins-Patriots game as children surfaced. The two were wearing Brady jerseys in the Hard Rock Stadium stands.
Now a Heisman Trophy winner and national champion, Mendoza is considered bound for Brady’s Raiders by virtually all predictions and mock drafts — or anyone who is even mildly informed on this year’s draft.
At the combine, he expressed more admiration for Brady, who won seven Super Bowl rings in his glorious NFL career and could soon be one of his bosses and mentors at his NFL destination.
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“I mean, who hasn’t admired Tom Brady? Guy has more Super Bowl rings than anybody, anybody,” Mendoza said Friday morning at Indiana Convention Center. “That opportunity would be fantastic. Tom Brady, I believe, is the greatest quarterback of all time by a wide margin. And to be able to have the opportunity to be mentored by him, it would mean so much.”
Mendoza is an underdog story much like Brady, but in a very different way.
Brady had to make his way in the NFL when no one even expected him to be a starting quarterback. An injury to Drew Bledsoe, the Patriots’ franchise quarterback at the turn of the millennium, gave backup Brady his chance, and he never looked back. Mendoza, assuming he is the Raiders’ pick, will be expected to shine for the franchise.
Mendoza, though, was overlooked in earlier stages. As a Miami native who attended Belen Jesuit and Columbus High, he was never perceived to be any elite passer or touted recruit.
He took his lone scholarship offer to a power conference to attend California, first working his way up the depth chart to start in the 2023 and 2024 seasons. It led him to transfer to Indiana, where he won the Heisman last season, threw for 3,535 yards and 41 touchdowns as he led the 16-0 Hoosiers to the national title, won a few miles from his high school against the Miami Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium.
As it stands for his transition into the NFL, he said Friday he had a “fantastic interview” with the Raiders. At his formal interview with Las Vegas, he said the team got Brady on the phone for him to say a brief hello.
“That was very special for me,” Mendoza said. “Look forward to hopefully meeting him in person one day.”
During Indiana’s College Football Playoff run, much was made about how Mendoza shut down all social media except for his profile on LinkedIn, the platform used by professionals in the workforce.
“Well, right now, I’m unemployed. I have no job,” Mendoza responded to a comical question asking about updating his LinkedIn page. “This is my job interview right now, and like everyone says, it’s the most important job interview of your life. So, right now, I’m just doing everything to hopefully get employed April 23.”
