Dov Berns from Brisbane, Queensland, Australia asks:
“Given the relatively poor success records of Heisman Trophy winning quarterbacks to date, don’t you think it would be wise to trade back for some draft capital and build the offensive line? I know people say Mendoza is a generational talent, but we seem to have a new one every year and records show the Heisman is kryptonite.”
It seems we’ll have to do a little bit of myth busting to properly answer this question.
Over the last 20 Heisman Trophy winners, dating back to 2006, 16 were quarterbacks – including Fernando Mendoza. Of those 16 quarterbacks, seven have at least one Pro Bowl appearance. Additionally, seven of those quarterbacks have won at least one playoff game as a starter including Joe Burrow who started in Super Bowl LVI for the Cincinnati Bengals. Jayden Daniels, the 2023 Heisman winner, led the Washington Commanders to their first NFC Championship game appearance in over 30 years his rookie season.
And of those Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks, two have won NFL MVP – 2011 No. 1 pick Cam Newton (2015) and Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson (2019, 2023).
So to say there’s a relatively poor success rate with Heisman Trophy quarterbacks isn’t necessarily true. Based off the numbers, Mendoza has a fairly decent chance of living up to the lofty expectations.
It’s also worth mentioning that the last quarterback to win a Super Bowl for the Raiders was 1970 Heisman Trophy winner Jim Plunkett.