Fernando Mendoza’s future team is getting a good look at the potential No. 1 pick in Miami

Courtesy of a 3-14 record, the Las Vegas own the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Courtesy of a 15-0 record and a Heisman Trophy heading into the national championship, Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza is the odds-on favorite to be selected No. 1 overall. 

So, Raiders ownership, Mark Davis and Tom Brady, have made the trip to Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Monday night to get a look at their future quarterback as he takes on Miami in the National Championship Game. 

Tom Brady and Raiders' ownership in attendance at the national championship

The 6-foot-5, 225-pound redshirt junior quarterback blossomed in his first season at Indiana, completing 73 percent of his passes and throwing for 3,349 yards and 41 touchdowns to just six interceptions. Yet, somehow, he’s managed to take it to a new level in the College Football Playoff, with more touchdown passes than incompletions through a 38-3 win over Alabama in the Rose Bowl and a 56-22 win over Oregon in the Peach Bowl CFP semifinal. 

The Peach Bowl performance, in a win over Oregon QB Dante Moore, cemented Mendoza’s place as QB1 in the draft. Moore was projected to be a first-round selection in the draft and potentially threaten Mendoza for the top spot. However, Moore threw a pick-six on the first play of the game and never settled in against Indiana’s dominant defense, finishing 24-for-39 for 285 yards with two touchdowns, an interception, and a lost fumble. 

Ultimately, the 20-year-old Moore, with just 20 starts under his belt, opted to return to Oregon for his redshirt junior season. Alabama QB Ty Simpson is the favorite to be the second quarterback selected in the draft, but he will not push Mendoza for the top spot. 

Almost no matter what, Mendoza is already locked into QB1 for the QB-needy Raiders, a franchise looking to hire another head coach after one season under Pete Carroll. Still, Mendoza would certainly like to impress Davis and especially Brady, who is reported to be running the franchise after buying a minority stake a few years ago. 

Mendoza will have a big challenge against Miami’s dominant defensive line, led by potential first-round selections Rueben Bain and Akheem Mesidor. They make up one of the fiercest pass-rushing duos in the country and could simulate the environments Mendoza will be thrust into in the NFL.