Fernando Mendoza The Savior? Miami Dolphins Mock Draft 2.0

Fernando Mendoza The Savior? Miami Dolphins Mock Draft 2.0

[Music] NFL week eight gets underway tomorrow with Dolphins, Falcons action in Atlanta. Miami not very good. So, let’s talk about the future. Mockdraft 2.0. We did a mock draft last week where I made a trade to draft Ty Simpson in the first round and also took Caleb DS, the safety from Ohio State. no trades today because we have the number two pick. So, I would have thought it would be fun to just say, “All right, let’s stick at number two and let’s make picks.” In almost every round, Miami is a draft pick. Only round they don’t have a pick in is round six. All right. If you want more Mac drafts though, hit that thumbs up icon, like the video because I want to do more mock drafts and as the Dolphins continue to stink, I want to make sure you guys are enjoying them. So, if you are, hit that thumbs up icon. Number two pick in the draft, we’re going quarterback. We’re going Fernando Mendoza, the QB out of Indiana. Jets at number one. Ultimately went with Ruben Bane. probably doesn’t happen in the real life, but in this one, we’ll take it because I’d love to have Mendoza join us in the Miami area because he is my guy through eight weeks of the college football season. Fernando Mendoza is my QB1. You could have a lot of con conversations about him, Lenor Sers, Ty Simpson, Dante Moore, but when I go through all of them, there’s no one that I enjoy watching more and believe in more than Fernando Mendoza. He’s got the perfect blend of ceiling, but floor and already productive at the college level being a practical three-year starter. And he’s a little bit older. He’s 22.5 years of age, but nothing crazy there. Redshirt Jr. He was a three-star recruit actually coming out of college and started at the University of Cal but then transferred to Indiana this year to replace Curtis Ror. Mendoza’s got great size to him. 6’5 225 and you see that size on display every single week. He’s able to see over the offensive lineman. He’s able to put the enough touch on each pass. He can layer the football. He can throw an absolute seed over the middle of the field if he needs to. and he’s got a pretty deep ball as well. He has been the most productive football quarterback at the college level. Completion percentage ridiculous, 73.5%, a QB rating damn near perfect of 136.3. And he just takes care of the football, man. I I like Mendoza. I when I watch him, I see a franchise guy. I do. He’s got a strong arm. He’s got a quick release. Hit the spiral. Every spiral spiral looks pretty. I can’t lie at the college level because of that white stripe on the ball. I’m a big fan of Mendoza. He’s got some mobility to him. I’m not going to say he’s a dual threat, but he can move around and make things happen with his legs. I think it’s very similar to Joe Burrow to where I wouldn’t expect him to beat you with his legs, but third and eight, yeah, he can give you and deliver a back breaker by scrambling, moving up in the pocket, and making things happen. You see some of his advanced numbers on screen right now. It’s not like he’s a checkdown Charlie, folks. Average depth of target 9.2. It’s phenomenal. He does get a lot of help from the screen game. There’s no debating that. 243 of his yards come from the screen game, but I don’t think that’s crazy either. And uh you see the average time to throw as well. 2.57. Average in the NFL is 2.55. So, it’s not like he’s sitting and running around in the pocket like a Caleb Williams to where he’s having a lot of production because he’s just running around. No, he’s a pocket guy. He’ll read the defense. He can throw it. Excels in the RPO game, which I know a lot of people are concerned that Indiana’s offense runs a lot of RPOS’s, but I do see the potential for him to be a pocket quarterback, but you could also incorporate a lot of those RPOs in your offense as well. Um because if you are able to create a scheme and system that is able to thrive on that and use his legs, use his quick decisiveness and accuracy, well that’s a good way to have success on offense. So if the Dolphins have a pick inside the top three or five, should they draft a quarterback? It’s a legit question because you still have two under contract potentially. Should Miami draft a QB? I say yes, but let me know what you say. The second pick in the second round, 34 overall. I’m going defense, going linebacker out of Ohio State, Sunny Styles. And know a lot of people are going to be like, do we need a linebacker? Jordan Brooks under contract for one more year. Uh we have also Tyrell Dodson on contract again. I I say yes, and I’ll explain why here in a second. But Styles has been in Ohio State system for a very long time. He’s got great size, 6’5, 243. um was helping leading that defense a year ago to a national championship and he’s leading the number one defense in the country right now. Ohio has got two legit linebackers, Sunonny Styles and uh Tyrell uh what’s this? Shavers. Tyrell Shavers is the name. Um Styles has been super productive, man. I mean, I mentioned last season 100 tackles, six sacks, 10 and a half TFLs for the national championship Ohio State Buckeyes, but was also really productive as a sophomore as well in 2023 and is now shown it again here in 2025. Like, I just think Sunny Styles is a player that will immediately come into your football team and make you better. And that’s what I am going to promote, guys. I said it. I don’t really care about position at this point. The Dolphins roster is so bad and littered with undertalented players. If I think a player is good, I am going to take them. There might be one position to where I say I’ll hang off and not draft, and that’s running back. But offensive line, you take one if the best player available is an offensive lineman, quarterback, linebacker, safety, don’t matter. If you view them as the best player available, you take them because you just need to start elevating your floor if you’re Miami since this team sucks. And I’m going to head to the third round here and go back to the offense. I’m going tight end. Michael Trigg out of Baylor, the 66th overall selection. And I know a lot of people are going to be like, is tight end a top need? We don’t really utilize the tight end a lot. Well, think about this. We’re likely going to have a different offensive scheme and play caller next year. So maybe the tight end is going to be more important in that offense. But I am very high on Michael Trey. And there’s a high chance he gets drafted in the second round when it’s all said and done late April. He’s 6’4 240. He’s been productive for the Baylor Bears this season. The most productive season is his career. By the way, he’s already surpassed his most productive season in the past, which was last year for Baylor. And it’s been seven games. And when you watch this guy play, he stands out. Literally, he is a massive human being. I watched the Kansas State Baylor game about three weeks ago. Michael Trigg had a pair of touchdowns um at over a 100red yards in that game, by the way. So maybe I’m influenced by that game, but he made an unbelievable contested catch over the middle of the field where he turns around, high points the ball, snags it, brings it down, puts the ball out with one hand and runs another like six, seven yards. And then I saw another go route down the sideline where it was a throw little bit high and outside from Saw Robertson, their quarterback, and he just goes out one hand, left-hand, and plucks it out of the air. Guy’s got a massive met on him. He’s a great big target. I think he would be able to pick up the run blocking game well in the NFL due to that size, be an excellent third down target, a red zone threat. And think about this guys, if you’re drafting a young quarterback, what do young quarterbacks benefit from a ton? It is a big body tight end they can throw to over the middle of the football field. We have seen it time after time again that young quarterbacks find success targeting the tight end early in their career. Michael Trigg would be a very good target potentially for Fernando Mendoza if this draft ultimately went this way in Miami. More picks to get to here, but this episode is brought to you by Prize Picks. I made a ton of decisions in this mock draft. You make a ton of decisions every single day. The right decisions on prize picks can get you paid. They have so many awesome new features they rolled out this football season. One of them being stacks. You could pick the same player up to three times in the same lineup. want to pick more than on a chan rushing yards, receptions, and touchdowns. Or you could have all of them in the same lineup only on prize picks. You can also now follow other players directly in the prize pix app and copy their lineups in one click. Whether it’s a friend, celebrity partner, or just someone whose picks you like. Hit the follow button and check out every lineup they create in the new feed tab on prize picks. My entry for this week, more than Robinson, 89 and a half rushing yards. more than Jaylen Wadd three and a half receptions and less than to a tongue of Aloa 32 and a half longest completion. Download the Prize Pix app today and use code CLNS to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. That’s code CLNS to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. Prize picks. It’s good to be right. We move over to the fourth round here or excuse me, third round. Miami has two third rounders. This pick came in from the trade you made last year’s draft where you traded a fourth round pick to get a future third round pick from the Houston Texans. I’m going corner Keith Abney II out of Arizona State. This is a guy that can play on the outside. He’s 6′ tall, 190. True junior, so relatively young. Maybe returns to the draft to try to improve his stock and become a firstrounder or a second round pick a year from now. But I also could see him being an early day two pick this year because he’s been outstanding for Dillingham and the Sunund Devils this year in coverage. 47.4% completion percentage allowed when targeted. Five pass breakups on one interception and a QB rating when targeted of 47.8. It’s no surprise that a corner is off the board at some point in this block draft. Miami has absolutely no future at the cornerback position. They have Rasul Douglas on a one-year deal, Jack Jones on a one-year deal, and nobody else really to hang your hat on. Like even Jason Marshall Jr., you don’t feel confident about him even being on the roster a year from now because he hasn’t been that good and has battled injuries. Keith Abney the second, certainly a player I am monitoring throughout the rest of the season in the Big 12. Three more picks. We’ll head to the fourth round officially now. We’re going to address an offensive line need here with JC Davis, the O lineman from Illinois. The reason why I like Davis is because I think he has the potential to play four different positions in the NFL. At Illinois, he has played predominantly left tackle. And in his career over the last three seasons, he has played only left tackle, but I think his size and his athleticism could allow him to play left guard or right guard in the NFL as well as right tackle. So you take a swing here in the middle rounds on a offensive lineman that could play either tackle spot or either guard spot. He’s been graded out really nicely on PFF this season for the Fighting Alii as the blind side protector for veteran quarterback Luke Altmire. Now the pressures aren’t great. 10 pressures allowed, two sacks, but he’s been excellent in the run game for Illinois. And when you watch his tape and watch him move, I think that’s the part that I get the most excited about with Davis is the athlete he is. He is a very good mover. He gets to that second level. He can sweep and pull and get out on the perimeter. I think Davis is a fascinating prospect that I’m keeping my eye on. And as an overarching talking point with the Miami Dolphins, you have to start preparing to replace Austin Jackson. First round pick in 2020. Yeah, it it just isn’t good. Like unfortunately, he never fit the bill at left tackle. They moved him to guard. He wasn’t great. Got moved to right tackle in 2023 was awesome. Signs a three-year extension, but gets hurt. Misses seven games last year. He’s already missed seven games this year. Like, he’s got one year left on his deal, but we have seen time after time after time, this is a player you can’t trust to be on the football field. So, you have to start preparing to replace Austin Jackson. He’s got one year left on his contract. You could draft Davis and have him be a reserve lineman for you next year and learn behind Jackson in his final year. Or if you like what you see from Davis early, heck, I’d be willing to pull the plug and just start JC Davis right away at right tackle. But you could also have him have an open competition with Jonah Savina at left guard because he sucks, too. Good news is if you draft an offensive lineman, there’s a chance they could play right away because what you currently have outside of Patrick Paul and Aaron Brewer is dog All right, moving on here with a couple more picks. You want more Dolphins box drafts, like the video, but also subscribe because we will be the best place for Dolphins draft coverage from now until late April. So get on it early by subscribing. In the fifth round, we’re going with another weapon. and wide receiver Nick Harbor out of South Carolina. I know people are going to say wide receiver, we don’t need wide receiver. Yes, we do. Tyreek Hill is going to be cut after the year. And outside of Jaylen Wadd, you got Nick Westerini who’s been a non-factor this year. And you have Malik Washington who’s only a slot guy. Tell you what, Nick Harour isn’t a slot guy. He is a big play ex-wide receiver. 65 235. This guy is a physical physical freak and he hasn’t been the most productive dude. I will admit right now he is not a good route runner and he struggles with drops a little bit. But if he’s able to put it together at times he looks as dominant as you could possibly look. He look he makes DK Metaf look like a little JV high school player on the football field. That’s how big this guy is. I mean, 65 235, that’s an edge rusher. This guy runs a 440 yard dash. And I say 44, I say sub. There’s rumors out there when he was coming out of high school before enrolling at South Carolina, he ran a 424 at that size. I’ve also seen 434, 439. It’s unclear what his 40 yard speed, straight line speed actually is, but it’s clearly sub4. and to run a sub44 at 65 235 that is ridiculous. I’d be willing to take the chance on him in the fifth round create a weapon for Mendoza. You have Wadd and Harbor on the boundary. Yeah, opposing defenses are going to be concerned and worried about getting beat over the top consistently when you got those two speed demons. I’d be intrigued with drafting Nick Harbor in early day three. We round out the mock draft with a seventhround edge selection. Patrick Payeyton out of LSU. Last week we went um with a defensive tackle Gooden out of LSU. This week we’re going with an edge rusher. Good size to him from the Miami area as well. 66 255. Been fine in production for LSU this year. 19 tackles, one sack, three PBU. Got great size though. You’re throwing darts here in the seventh round to this point. Payton intrigues me a little bit because of his size. Um I’m also always going to be partial to local kids. Why I always so like Mendoza as well. Grew up a Dolphins fan from the Miami area. That makes me want to take him even more. All right, that will do it for our mockdraft 2.0. Seven selections. Mendoza, Sunny Styles, Michael Trigg, Keith Abney, JC Davis, Nick Harour, and we round it out with Patrick Payton. Seven selections, four in the first three rounds, three in day three. Great it. I want to see how you feel I did if this ultimately is how the draft went in late April with that second overall spot. How would you all feel? A, B, C, D, or F? And like I mentioned earlier, we will continue to bring you daily videos. We’ll be live tomorrow for Dolphins Falcons week eight. And we will continue to bring you the latest around this football team with news, rumors, draft, trade, everything in between. So subscribe today. [Music]

Miami Dolphins fans have turned their eye to the NFL Draft after a 1-6 start. The Dolphins currently hold the 2nd overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft order, and are in position to draft an elite QB prospect. Visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/CLNS and use code CLNS and get $50 in lineups when you play your first $5 lineup! Fernando Mendoza projects as the top QB prospect on the 2026 NFL Draft big board. Dolphins Today host Nic Rohloff took Fernando Mendoza with the 2nd pick to be the Tua Tagovailoa replacement of the future. This episode has more Dolphins rumors and Dolphins news as NFL Week 8 is about to get started!

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Miami Dolphins 2026 mock draft:
Rd. 1, Pick No. 2: Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana
Rd. 2, Pick No. 34: Sonny Styles, LB, Ohio State
Rd. 3, Pick No. 66: Michael Trigg, TE, Baylor
Rd. 3, Pick No. 74: Keith Abney II, CB, Arizona State
Rd. 4, Pick No. 102: J.C. Davis, OL, Illinois
Rd. 5, Pick No. 141: Nyck Harbor, WR, South Carolina
Rd. 7, Pick No. 215: Patrick Payton, EDGE, LSU

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Fernando Mendoza highlights and stats:
73.5 COMP%, 1,755 YDS, 21 TD/2 INT, 136.3 QB RTG, 151 RUSH YDS/2 TD

Share this video on Twitter/X and tag host Nic Rohloff – @nic_rohloff

Miami Dolphins Defensive Coaches:
Head Coach: Mike McDaniel
Defensive Coordinator: Anthony Weaver
Linebackers Coach/Run Game Coordinator: Joe Barry
Outside Linebackers: Ryan Crow
Defensive Line Coach: Austin Clark
Passing Game Coordinator & Secondary Coach: Brian Duker
Cornerbacks Coach: Mathieu Araujo
Defensive Backs/Pass game Specialist: Ryan Slowik
Assistant DL Coach: Kynjee’ Cotton
Defensive Assistant: Matt O’Donnell
Assistant DBs Coach: Deshawn Shead

Keith Abney Arizona State coverage stats on Pro Football Focus:
18 REC/38 TGT, 157 YDS, 0 TD, 1 INT/5 PBU, 47.8 QB RTG

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NEXT: More Dolphins Today YouTube for the REAL ONES:
– HUGE Miami Dolphins Trade Rumors On Minkah Fitzpatrick Before NFL Week 8: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2ZMkwj7qaY
– Miami Dolphins BIG Injury Updates + Dolphins News Before Falcons Game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9Nuu_3Z6mo
– Miami Dolphins Fans Will LOVE This Report From Ian Rapoport…: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lTEeFmyFCA

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