Darren Mougey & Jets Contingent Watch Fernando Mendoza In Person | Thoughts On The QB Draft Class

Darren Mougey & Jets Contingent Watch Fernando Mendoza In Person | Thoughts On The QB Draft Class

All right, guys. What’s going on? Welcome in. So, the Jets have back-to-back victories here. Obviously, Bengals, then a by-week, and then the Cleveland Browns. So, we’ll see if we can keep the train rolling, right? Obviously, the defense looked great, special teams looked great. The offense was clunky uh for the majority of the game outside of Bree Hall. Brie was awesome. But hopefully we get some positive news regarding Garrett Wilson and the whole right knee situation along with Adai Mitchell coming back. Uh should be good. My assumption is he should be good to go for next week. But in this one, I wanted to talk about the potential future at the Jets quarterback position. Fernando Mendoza. Now, not only did Darren Muji just go to Indiana Penn State, but Rick Spielman was there supposedly it was a pretty solidsized contingent from the Jets to go out and watch Mendoza. Now, my first reaction to it is like the sky’s blue. Yeah, this team is projected to have a top three, top five draft selection. We don’t have the long-term option at the quarterback position. If Mendoza is playing, if Ty is these guys are playing, yeah, I want my general manager. I want the heavy hitters, the uh the top dogs within the organization to go out to these games if they can because it’s not, you know, it’s not like they’re just showing up and watching and leaving. They’re talking to people. They’re talking to coaches. They’re talking to people around the program. They’re seeing, you know, pregame rituals. They’re seeing how, you know, um, players act on the sidelines. How do they handle adversity? Like there’s a lot that goes into an act, you know, a general manager taking the time out of the busy schedule to go attend a game. And if it’s more than just a GM, if it’s a GM and others, it’s a pretty big deal. But again, everyone in the world knew that the Jets had interest in Fernando Mendoza. This is not shocking in the slightest. Right now, if we take a look at Mendoza and his fit with the Jets, I think it’s honestly great. You know, you look specifically at where Fields struggles in the most processing, his slow, slow release, and accuracy. Fernando Mendoza quite literally is the opposite. He is an extremely quick release. He’s very good at diagnosing what’s happening in front of him and he’s extremely accurate. I think Mendoza is the most accurate quarterback in college football as a whole. Personally, my pro comparison for Mendoza is Sam Bradford, right? not not the you know the the the Bradford that we all know as of late like that one random season with the Cardinals but if we think back to like when Sam Bradford won the Heisman just him as a draft prospect coming out uh pre-injjury you know he was just someone that had p just absolute like he could thread the needle right layering throws short intermediate deep he can get the football out of his hands quickly he had a lightning fast release at the collegiate level um and he was a smart guy that could win from the pocket Mendoza has a lot a lot of the same characteristics as Sam as uh Sam Bradford. I’ve seen a lot of Kurt Cousins comparisons. Personally, I I just don’t really agree with those. You know, when you go back and you remember Cousins back at Michigan State, uh his time with Washington, he was like this gunslinger. You know, he was someone who was not afraid to really put the football in harm’s way to take chances down the field. You know, I remember like his senior year in college, he had like a 62 63 completion percentage with 10 picks. Like he was not afraid to really launch the ball down the field. The big thing with Cousins was he was a very smart player and mechanically awesome. So he can pick up a complicated system, hence why he got drafted to Washington and and Mike Shanahan, Kyle Shanahan, that whole crew. Shawn McVey was a part of that staff. Laflur I believe was also a part of that staff. Anyway, Cousins was able, he had the the overall brain power to handle a complicated system and run a West Coast style um pretty effectively, pretty easily. But it wasn’t really until Minnesota, the Minnesota Vikings days where Cousins games started to become a little bit more polished, right? The INTs went down, the decision-m got better, and overall he just played a more efficient style uh with the Minnesota Vikings. With Mendoza, I don’t really see this this this quarterback that is willing to just launch the ball down the field because someone’s down there, right? When I watch Mendoza, I just see the extreme accuracy. I see a really, really good body type, 6’5, 225 to be able to hang in the pocket, see over offensive lineman, diagnose the defense, and get the football out of his hands quickly. You know, Mendoza, I think, as a leader, is fantastic. I mean, you listen to the coaches, you listen to the players, you know, his attitude, his personality, I think, is a big reason why the team is 10 and0 on the season. I mean, he’s been awesome. But one of my favorite things about Mendoza, yes, of course, we could talk about the release, the accuracy, all these things, but it’s the intangibles, right? Who goes to who goes to Eugene, Oregon, and beats the Ducks in the regular season? Who does that? who goes to Iowa in the same season and beats the Hawkeyes and goes to Penn State and beats the Nitney Lions in Happy Valley. You know, he has some big time road wins. I understand that Penn State fired Franklin or whatnot, but still these are very difficult environments to play in. Very difficult. And then it it’s not to say that, oh, he only has a couple, you know, a handful of games under his belt, a handful of wins. No, he is blowing teams out. Michigan State blowout. Maryland blowout. The FCS opponent, who is it? Illinois State, uh, I believe it was Illinois State, 70oint blowout. UCLA, another blowout. You know, Mendoza has just been on fire. And they do have a lot of talent. They have multiple players on the team that are going to be headed to the NFL for sure. No doubt about it. And of course, we have to credit Signetti. Absolutely awesome story. If I was a Hooser fan, I would be, especially after his uh recent extension. Uh, but the point is I love Mendoza. I really, really do. Here’s the problem, though. I think you need the first overall pick to land him. I can’t because look, we all know quarterbacks once the once they stop playing, everyone’s stock starts to rise. You know, think like even last season with Jackson Dart. You know, who’s talked about going in the third round at the Senior Bowl in late February, right? Right before free agency is kicking off. third round, Jackson Dart. We saw where he went. You know, we had the Giants trading up back into the first. You have pro days and private workouts and the combine, right? You have all these things, different uh situations to get your face out out in front of the media. You know, Mendoza is going to kill all that stuff. Now, who knows, maybe when the college football playoff rolls around, Indiana loses a game and Mendoza doesn’t play well. I I don’t think it matters all that much. You know, of course, this is kind of an early projection here, but I just when I watch Mendoza play, man, I just think, especially in this quarterback class, too, where a lot of these guys, in my opinion, are going to be going back to school. Nothing’s for sure yet. We’re going to talk about some of these other guys and just kind of my honest belief on what I think truly is going to happen, but I think Mendoza is going for sure, for sure, like 100% top five. And I’m pretty sure he’s going to be a top three pick depending on what happens with Ty Simpson here. Now again, I think for the Jets, who I think right now would be slated in a pick fifth um because of the win yesterday and yeah, the Saints won and stuff like that, but the Giants lost again. The Titans were on a bye-week. They currently hold the first overall pick. they won’t be going quarterback. But truthfully, I don’t really believe that there is a player in this class that’s worth the number one overall. I mean, I would argue Arll Ree is the best player in this entire draft. I love I love Ree, standup linebacker, edge rusher. I I mean, you want to talk and I understand that the the the reputation with these hybrid types of players is not the best. You’ve had guys that are, you know, projected like, “Oh my gosh, they could play check a bunch of different boxes. They could play multiple positions and then they don’t work at the work out at the NFL level.” I know people always reference Isaiah Simmons is one of those players, but when I watch Arl Ree, he’s like a defensive coordinator’s dream. And I think there’s probably a different like different defensive coordinators would have different ideas on how to use him, but he can rush the passer. His closing speed is incredible. He can line up literally as a mic linebacker. Uh QB spy, amazing. Just an athletic athletic freak. Like he he reminds me like he is Von Miller types of tendencies. But is Arll Reese really going to be going that high in this draft? I’m not sure. Personally, I don’t have any doubts about Arll Ree going top 10. I I think that’s pretty much set in stone. Um, even though it’s early, but I just when I watch Ree, I think he is amazing. I think the closer we get to the NFL draft, the more we’re going to start talking about him as a potential top five guy. But regardless, if you’re the Titans, you know, Ruben Bane, I I don’t really view Ruben Bane as like a number one overall pick, but yeah, it I mean, it it should be interesting to see who lands that that first overall pick. But the whole, you know, idea here is that I don’t know if the Jets finish with like the fifth or the sixth or the seventh overall pick when it’s all said and done, you know, if they pick up another win or two down the stretch, I don’t think Mendoza is going to be on the board. And that’s the whole thing. And so, you can definitely argue, okay, do you trade up? Do you maybe go with the quarterback that’s on the board, QB3 or whoever it may be? Now, if that’s the case, right, the Jets are at like six, seven or eight or something. I unless they are absolutely in love with the quarterback prospect and he’s there. Think of like Bo Knicks Denver, Michael Pennock Atlanta where he’s not the top rated guy. He might not be QB2, but that team loves and believes and is going to invest everything in that player. If you don’t feel that way, just I in my opinion, I’m just punting. I’m not falling into the trap of, oh, the Jets need a quarterback, so you must draft one in this class because you need one. That’s I don’t know. That’s That’s like Pittsburgh drafting Kenny Picket. Well, we need a quarterback. We’ll just take him. I I just don’t like that. If even if you like the guy, I don’t like it. You need to love the guy to be drafting someone in the first round, especially in the top 10. So, that’s just kind of my mindset right now. If the Jets have the first, second, third, fourth pick and the a quarterback is there that they love, I really don’t mind them going out and and making that selection. But but if he’s not there, I’m not going to force it. That it makes no sense. The Jets have way too many holes on this roster. I mean, we had a talent and depth issue with S Gardner, Quinnon Williams, and Michael Carter on this team. So now that those three guys are gone, yeah, that talent gap has not, you know, shrunk at all. I mean, yeah, we added a couple of uh young wide receivers, but I mean, overall, this team need we’re not just, you know, a quarterback away, but let’s talk about some of these quarterback prospects here, right? Mendoza, I think, is coming out. I just don’t see a situation where Mendoza goes back to school. To me, it makes no sense. I think Dante Moore, who everybody loves, will be going back to Oregon, right? If you first of all, and we were talking about this back in September, I spoke to two people close to the Oregon program. They’re not coaches on the program or anything. And they and when I was asking about, okay, declaring for the NFL draft, they didn’t say no, he wasn’t, and he’s for sure coming back. But they looked the how should I say it? Uh the response that they gave to me was kind of like I asked them a it was almost like I asked them, hey, what are you having for dinner in 3 weeks? Like kind of this confused, puzzling type of uh response is what I got. Like yeah, that’s like the furthest thing on our mind right now. Like we’re not nobody’s really talking about that. That’s not really like a real, you know, this is not a talking point right now within the program. It is focus. It is develop. It is growth. It is perform. That’s what it is with Dante Moore. The NFL to again in my experience talking to two people it felt very again like that’s way on the back burner like we will cross that bridge eventually. So, based off of those conversations and looking at Dante Moore’s backstory, right, five-star high school kid coming out of Michigan, all the hype around him, he’s eyeing Oregon, he goes to UCLA with Chip Kelly because he’s like, “Boom, you can start immediately as a true freshman.” Goes to UCLA and um flashes for sure. Definitely has some good plays and some good moments, but overall the product wasn’t great and he ends up I mean, the whole UCLA program get just gets turned on its head. He transfers to Oregon with the full understanding of I want to sit, learn, and develop behind Dylan Gabriel for a whole season. And if you look at the track record of Oregon quarterbacks, Bo Nicks was like a college quarterback veteran, played in a lot of games with with Auburn coming in to Oregon. Uh you can even go back to Justin Herbert, him having the ability to declare, but he goes back to school. Um, Dylan Gabriel obviously had no more uh no more eligibility left, so he had to go to the NFL. But the kind the theme here with the Ducks is we’re we’re really going to surround you with a lot of help. The you already know the NIL is going to be there. I just don’t and and also factoring in Dante Moore’s age. What is he 20 21 years old? I just don’t see him I mean unless he wins the national championship or something like that and just goes on a tear and the the report back from NFL teams is hey you are going to be the number one pick like Trevor Lawrence Clemson Andrew Luck Stanford right where it’s just like boom there’s no questions asked if you enter the draft you’re the first overall pick I could see Dante Moore entering then but I just right now I just don’t get the vibe I just don’t think he’s gonna come out Ty Simpson though is a really really interesting case study. I can’t really put my finger on it. I It feels very 50/50 right now. I mean, on one hand, you know, he’s playing great ball. Like Tai Simpson is just awesome. You know, clutch games going to Missouri, going to Georgia. I I understand that LSU is kind of in shambles right now, but just going out and handling them no problem at all. I mean, the Alabama offense is just so mentally, really, the Alabama team is just so mentally strong. And granted, they do have a lot of NFL talent for sure, but it just feels unshakable. An unshakable confidence with Tai Simpson right now, and he’s a first year player, that is so damn impressive, right? for someone to, you know, be in the spotlight at a premier program in the country, to be not only just performing well against SEC opponents, but to, you know, have the al this Alabama team where they’re at right now where they could very well win the SEC and, you know, behind a first year court. Like, this is pretty insane stuff here that we’re seeing from Tai Simpson. Physically, he’s not the biggest dude in the world, but man, working off of play action, uh, feel in the pocket, uh, quarterback mechanics, accuracy, decision-m, clutch gene, right? Having that fourth down throw, that third and goal type of throw, th those money downs. Ty Simpson walks up to the line of scrimmage with no issues, no problems. He’s not overthinking. He’s just a cool customer, man. Just ice water in his veins. Love that about Tai. And again, it’s rare for someone to have that if he’s not experienced. It’s one thing if you’re Dylan Gabriel or Jaylen Herz or Bo Knicks or take your pick, Justin Herbert. Jayen Daniels was another one of those types of players that had a lot of college experience under his belt. So, you feel like, okay, you know what? This is normal. This is expected. These guys are battle tested. I expect them to not be mentally shaken on a third down or how to, you know, handle a weird question in a press conference or how to not get consumed by social media or something like that. But for Tai Simpson to be showing that quality and he only has what, nine starts under his under his belt in his college career. Yeah, that is impressive. So again, I think Simpson could be a very very good NFL quarterback. I think he has a lot of traits, a lot of tools that that NFL OC’s would like. He seems like an extremely confident um extremely smart player at the position and we’re seeing what Alabama’s doing this season. We’re seeing the overall production. What does he have? 20 touchdowns to one INT. I mean, Ty Simpson has been awesome this season. Absolutely awesome. So, you can do you can fully make the argument Tai Simpson should enter this NFL draft. Is that for sure going to happen though? Right? Because at the end of the day, here are the big cons. He only has that one season of starting experience. Now, granted, he sat for three years. He’s 22 or 23 years old. Believe he’s 23 years old. So, he is a little bit more experience. And so, you do have that in your back pocket. But, does he maybe want to go back? Does he want to get a little bit more development? Does he want to go back and be the guy for Alabama? Maybe they have a disappointing first round exit. does he, you know, would that um maybe sway his opinion to re, you know, rejoin the Crimson Tide to Boore’s offense and whatnot? I guess only time will tell, but again with Simpson and also too, you look at the track record of quarterbacks uh or track record of success or lack thereof of quarterbacks that enter the NFL draft with sub 20 starts. Trey Lance, Mitch Trabiscy, Anthony Richardson, you know, Kyler Murray was one of those players as well where he was sub 20 starts, but Kyler obviously worked out, but it’s not like this long long list of quarterbacks that just pan out. Pan, it’s not a for sure guarantee. So, in other words, the team that’s going to be drafting Tai Simpson in the event that he does enter, you know, has to put him in a position to actually have success, not this whole save the franchise nonsense, which ironically enough, the Jets constantly do with their young quarterbacks. Drives me crazy. So, again, with Tai, I feel like it could go 50/50. Lenora Cellers is another big one. I think for sure he Lenor Sers is another one. I think he’s going back to school. I I mean, we’ve been saying it since last season. The South Carolina offense just doesn’t feel like it has enough talent and the fan base is absolutely fed up with uh Schula and he just got fired, right? I I mean, the offense just it it feels very much to me at least like Andrew Luck in Indianapolis where it’s just this, you know, Sers has to do everything. He has to run and extend plays. He has to hit these crazy throws down the field. He has to keep them in the game. He’s constantly getting hit, constantly having to break the pocket. It’s just it just feels hard to watch at at points and you know sellers almost like uh Cam Ward at Washington State where you’re like okay Cam is keeping us in the game. Can we really do something to help him out? It just wasn’t really happening. Now Cam declared for the draft. Word got back that he was thinking okay NFL teams were thinking fourth to fifth round pick. So he decommits kind of from the NFL draft, takes his name out of the hat, goes back to school and transfers over to Miami. So, I could easily see Sellers staying at South Carolina or transferring schools, but maybe he just says, you know, screw it. I’m This is a weaker quarterback draft class anyway. I’m going to enter. There’s a lot of teams that need quarterbacks. The Jets, the Browns, the Raiders, the Saints, like Yeah. And again, Rams potentially could be in the market of drafting their long-term option. A lot of teams out there. So, I don’t know, maybe sellers enters, but I’m going to lean towards he stays in school. I also think John Matir should stay in school. He’s just way too erratic for me personally. I just don’t know what I’m getting from Matier. Like that Matier right now, like in the event that the Jets were to draft him at three or five or something to me is just I just don’t like that that idea. I I feel like Matier needs more polish at the college level, more consistency, more snaps, more experience. And um I I just think there needs to be a certain level of consistency with his game that we are getting from Mendoza, we are getting from Dante Moore, we are getting from um Tai Simpson here. Not really getting it from sellers, but you know, again, I think sellers situation is different. Matier just feels too up and down for me. like incredible play, questionable throw. Incredible play, questionable throw for me personally for the Jets to like fully invest like this is going to be the guy because look, if we draft a quarterback, Mendoza, Simpson, whoever this year in round one, the chances of us moving off of that player the following year in 2027, which right now is being talked about as the better draft class with guys like Julian Sain, what happens with Arch Manning and whatnot, whatever. Like there’s a lot of hype with that class. Dante Moore goes back to school. Um, you’re not going to be picking a quarterback in that class if you just take one in in the first round this year. So, that is something that needs to be on the minds of Jar Muji in this front office. So really macro perspective right now if the Jets lose out and we finish with the first pick, the second pick, the third pick or something along those lines and Mendoza or Simpson is there, I really would not mind the Jets to draft that player and to start build around building around them. However, if we get the ninth pick or the sixth pick or the seventh pick, I’m not forcing it. I’m not forcing it at all or I’m not feeling the pressure like oh my gosh with that second first round pick. Do we package that to move back up into the f like I just I would rather just build out the team for another season go out and land you know some solid solid day one impact starters at positions of need. We need edge. We need I I would say we would need one more defensive tackle. We need help at man wide receiver. What’s going to happen with interior offensive line along with quarterback? You know, maybe a data like if Peter Woods is on the board, is that something that the Jets would maybe go down? I think Peter Woods right now, although we don’t need a DT, Peter Woods would come in and be the best DT on the team in my opinion out of Clemson. So, something to think Ruben Bane, you know, if he’s there with the sixth overall pick. Again, we just talked about Arvel Ree. I like David Bailey a lot from Texas Tech. maybe more so stand up three four outside linebacker, but I think he has a lot a lot of natural skills um for that Red Raider defense. That whole defense is freaking stacked to Texas Tech’s defense. It’s loaded. And it’s funny because you’re constantly thinking about like Mahomes and Cliff and Baker and like the air raid offense Leech with Texas Tech. Now it’s like just a brick wall defense. Absolutely crazy. So anyway, let me know your thoughts down below in the comment section. What are some of your early thoughts on on some of these quarterbacks right now? Um, do you want one? Should the Jets target one or would you rather just pass? You know, because you can definitely definitely because I could see the Jets going either way here. Um, whether they finish with that top pick and draft a quarterback, but I just don’t want them to force it. There’s no need to force it and just well, we need a quarterback. Might as well take one. 2027’s not guaranteed. Just got to take this guy that is okay now who’s QB4 on everyone’s board. Just not not the way you find a franchise quarterback in my opinion. And it’s not to say that there those only players in this draft. I mean, you have other guys, right? Uh Hoover from TCU, Sorsby from Cincinnati, Carson Beck from Miami, who Rick Spielman really likes for whatever that’s worth. Um, Garrett Nusmeer kind of reminds me a lot of like Jimmy Garopppolo where he is so accurate, footwork is great, mechanics are great, but it’s like the longer the play goes on, the higher chance of him making a stupid decision goes way up. Just launching it into double coverage, trying to force a ball down the field. It’s just at times very difficult to watch Nusmeer if you know I if he’s trying to extend and make a play, it’s just like you’re holding your breath like what are we doing? Just like Jimmy G back in the day, you know, when Garopppolo was on time and in rhythm, everything was smooth. But when he starts like trying to scramble and extend or gets all panicky in the pocket and just starts, you know, launching these balls over the middle of the field, it like that’s where you’d see like the multi-interception uh games. And same thing with Nusmeer. So yeah, we’ll see how it all plays out. Thanks so much for watching, guys. I appreciate it. Let me know your thoughts and as always, go Jets. [Music]

Jets execs watch potential top 2026 NFL Draft pick Fernando Mendoza live after deadline sell-off – https://nypost.com/2025/11/08/sports/top-jets-executives-watch-potential-no-1-qb-pick-fernando-mendoza/

New Merch Store – https://jetscentral-shop.fourthwall.com/

Social Media Here!!-
Twitter- https://twitter.com/Jets_Central
Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/theofficialjetscentral/
Twitch – https://www.twitch.tv/jetscentral
Email – Theofficialjetscentral@gmail.com

All Breaking NFL News: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdqYsUAKHz9VLoDRTB1G9HCK9nH35FpKp
Offseason Rumors: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdqYsUAKHz9Xdvuli0mmfVPKgR35lzzn-
Mock Drafts: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdqYsUAKHz9VcPFsJS4MRoExZVDzpGXax
New York Jets News Today – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdqYsUAKHz9VLBrmsphzcVt5eIc718ofH

NY POST : “Happy Valley was filled with green and white on Saturday.
The Jets had a “heavy contingent” — that included general manager Darren Mougey and senior football advisor Rick Spielman — at the Penn State-Indiana game on Saturday to watch Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza take on the Nittany Lions, ESPN reported.”

Darren Mougey & Jets Contingent Watch Fernando Mendoza In Person | Thoughts On The QB Draft Class

#newyorkjets #jets #nyjets