There will be a baker\u2019s dozen worth of Heisman winners suiting up for NFL teams in 2026, and no we don\u2019t mean a Mayfield offensive set flagged for having too many men on the field.<\/p>\n
What that means for Heisman faithful \u2014 current readers included \u2014 is a bevy of games featuring winners of the stiff-arm trophy squaring off.<\/p>\n
But unless there\u2019s a surprising personnel move, the newest Heisman winner in the NFL, Las Vegas Raiders rookie Fernando Mendoza<\/a>, will go without a Heisman match-up in year one.<\/p>\n In a city built on odds, the folks in Vegas should be able to calculate the minuscule chances that none of the Raiders\u2019 14 opponents (including two games apiece against AFC West rivals) would feature at least one game against the 10 other teams with a Heisman winner.<\/p>\n Is the probability of Vegas missing all of the other Heisman-having teams less than the Raiders\u2019 chances of reaching the Super Bowl after drafting first?<\/p>\n No one knows. When and if Mendoza takes over the starting QB duties in Las Vegas, he\u2019ll have to wait a season to face a member of the Heisman Fraternity. Unless the Raiders make the playoffs, but we may be getting ahead of ourselves. Just maybe.<\/p>\n Not all Heisman matchups are the same. Heisman dean Jameis Winston<\/a> will be a back-up for New York during the five games when the Giants face a Heisman team (and presumably all the others). That includes twice against Washington, which features fellow Heisman backup Marcus Mariota<\/a> as well as starter Jayden Daniels<\/a>.<\/p>\n Kyler Murray<\/a> is in his first season in Minnesota and will be in a heated quarterback battle with 2023 Heisman 10th-place finisher J.J. McCarthy. Murray and the Vikings have five games lined up against Heisman teams, including a Week 3 game against former Oklahoma teammate Baker Mayfield<\/a>.<\/p>\n Daniels and Mariota join Cincinnati\u2019s Joe Burrow<\/a> and Philadelphia\u2019s DeVonta Smith<\/a> with seven scheduled Heisman matchups.<\/p>\n Burrow and Daniels will square off on Monday Night Football in Week 11 in Washington in a battle of LSU Heisman-winning QBs.<\/p>\n We get two matchups of Crimson Tide winners. In Week 6, Smith\u2019s Eagles host Bryce Young\u2019s<\/a> Panthers in a contest of Alabama teammates. Young and Carolina also take on Derrick Henry\u2019s<\/a> Ravens in Week 11.<\/p>\n There is one NFL international game featuring Heisman winners when Smith\u2019s Eagles take on Travis Hunter<\/a> and the Jacksonville Jaguars in London in Week 5. The Jaguars play back-to-back games in the UK and will also take on Houston in the shadow of Big Ben (not Roethlisberger) in Week 6.<\/p>\n Daniels and the Commanders play in London in Week 4 while Burrow\u2019s Bengals take on the Falcons in Madrid in November.<\/p>\n