As the pre-draft process rolls along, the wide sense is Fernando Mendoza will go to the Las Vegas Raiders as the No. 1 overall pick. The former Indiana star is the clear top quarterback prospect in the 2026 NFL Draft, according to multiple draft analysts, and NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah said Mendoza’s grade is up there with Cam Ward a year ago.

Jeremiah told reporters Thursday he gave Mendoza the same draft grade as he gave Ward in 2025. The Tennessee Titans selected Ward with the top pick out of Miami, where he ranked third in the nation in total offense after transferring from Washington State.

Of course, Mendoza and Ward bring two drastically different skillsets to the table. But when it comes down to the evaluation as draft prospects, Jeremiah said they’re similar.

“I gave him the same grade that I gave Cam Ward,” Jeremiah said on a conference call. “You could not be any more, kind of, polar opposites as players where Cam Ward, it was kind of the magic, the off-schedule magic that he had, to go along with just kind of a loose, fluid motion. Everything he did was just so smooth. He’d kind of fade away and throw the ball wherever he wanted. Whereas Mendoza, a little more robotic in his movement than Cam, but still has a strong arm. I think he does a really, really good job of protecting the football.

“Both of them excel in the RPO game. I think you’d want to have an element of that in your offense, if you’re [Klint] Kubiak, just because he’s so comfortable and such a great decision-maker there.”

Daniel Jeremiah on Fernando Mendoza’s ‘best attribute’

Fernando Mendoza won the Heisman Trophy this past season while leading Indiana to its first-ever national championship. He completed 72% of his passes for 3,535 yards and 41 touchdowns, to just six interceptions. In fact, heading into the national championship, he had more touchdowns than incomplete passes.

But what stood out most to Daniel Jeremiah was Mendoza’s toughness, which was on full display in the national championship. That level of poise is a big reason why he grades out so well as the top quarterback prospect on the board.

“The best attribute that he has, to be honest with you, I’d say is his toughness,” Jeremiah said. “Like, I think, if you go through and look at all these great quarterbacks over the years, I’ve always harped on poise being a big part of it. The Hall of Famers, I did a study a long time ago, and you see all different sizes. You’ll see different arm strength, you’ll see different athleticism. But they all had a poise to them, and that also has to do with the toughness.

“When you get drilled early in the game – as he did a couple times – and you don’t see any rattle to him at all, he locks back in. There’s a mental and a physical toughness to him that I think is going to serve him well. And I would imagine with Tom Brady in the building, as someone who had a reputation for both the mental and physical toughness, that those traits will be appreciated.”