Fernando Mendoza completed his phenomenal 2025 season by winning The O’Brien Award and The Maxwell Award on Friday night. He was also named the Heisman Trophy winner on Saturday night, setting up Indiana’s run in the College Football Playoff. That said, with his haul of awards, regardless of what happens in the CFP, Mendoza is most certainly going to be the first quarterback taken in the 2026 NFL Draft.
But who should go after him? The easy answer is any team that needs a quarterback, but there are some equally quarterback-needy teams further down in the draft order that could be swayed to trade up for Mendoza. If he wins a national championship that would be icing on the cake, that is his draft stock. He doesn’t need it though, so here’s who will be doing everything they can to land Mendoza in April.
Minnesota Vikings
The J.J. McCarthy era in Minnesota has been short and extremely disappointing. If they truly value Justin Jefferson and winning, they’ll do everything they can to rid themselves of leaning on McCarthy, which could mean trading up to land Mendoza. Truthfully, the Vikings should have seen this coming after he had a less-than-appealing career with Michigan.
Sure he won a national championship, but the Wolverines didn’t need him to pass the ball. Because of that, translating to the Vikings where they need him to be more of a passer was just not working out. McCarthy hasn’t been efficient and he’s doing more harm than good at this point. So far this season, he has just one game with more than 200 passing yards and more interceptions than touchdown passes.
That’s why they could put together a package that involves McCarthy and some picks to move up and possibly draft Mendoza. Obviously that’s more of a pipe dream than anything, but it’s something the Vikings would consider if it means they don’t have to worry about McCarthy doing more damage to this team’s success.
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals have already committed to Jacoby Brissett for the rest of the season, and with Kyler Murray’s season over, it could mean they’re preparing to move on from him this offseason. As part of a deal with Murray, they could land a pick high enough to draft Mendoza and finally give them a quarterback they can build around. It’s been rough for the Cardinals, quarterback wise, who’ve flopped with Josh Rosen and now Murray. Mendoza would solve their quarterback woes.
Mendoza is far more NFL ready than Murray or Rosen was and with Murray also winning the Heisman Trophy before he was selected No. 1 overall, that adds an intriguing storyline. The Cardinals need to find a quarterback – along with improving their defense – and they have the most leverage to make it happen.
I’m not saying Mendoza is the answer to every team’s quarterback problem, but he would certainly give Arizona a much better chance than they currently have with Murray.
Los Angeles Rams
Matthew Stafford hasn’t come out and said it yet, but it feels like he’s on his way to retirement, meaning the Rams need to get creative for his replacement, while still contending in the NFC. They currently have the No. 9 pick in the upcoming draft, thanks to the Atlanta Falcons. They could use that pick to move up and possibly land Mendoza in a blockbuster move.
Mendoza with Sean McVay would terrorize the NFL just like Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid have done for nearly a decade. It would be hard for the Rams to force their way into the top five with the Las Vegas Raiders desperately needing a better option than Geno Smith. This is also contingent on Stafford retiring.
The way Stafford is playing, he could be swayed to come back for another year. He’s been one of the top quarterbacks this year and is in the running for the MVP. He could be interested in coming back for another season, especially if they fall short of a championship. If he doesn’t though, the Rams could pull off the ultimate heist for Mendoza.
New York Jets
The New York Jets currently have the No. 5 pick ahead of Week 15. That could change, but for now, if they want to begin to solve their quarterback woes, they’ll need to turn to this draft. There’s some good options, but the safest would be Mendoza. They could be interested in trading back if another team wants to trade up, but Mendoza is the best option for them.
Justin Fields’ time in New York has been terrible and the only thing that could save Aaron Glenn’s job at this point is moving on from Fields and landing a rookie that will give the franchise patience to let them develop. The Jets honestly are a quarterback away from being competitive. The rest of this roster is good enough to compete in the AFC and in the division.
Acquiring Mendoza doesn’t necessarily mean the Jets will be AFC East contenders, but it gives them a much better shot than what they currently have. The Jets have to be urgent in fixing their quarterback situation and going after Mendoza might just be their answer.