It sounds like teams from around the NFL have accepted that the Las Vegas Raiders will make Indiana Hoosiers star quarterback Fernando Mendoza the first overall pick of the 2026 draft on the night of April 23.
During a sit-down interview with NFL insider Aditi Kinkhabwala of CBS Sports on Friday, Mendoza was asked to reveal “the most bizarre question” he heard while speaking with teams during the ongoing scouting combine. He hilariously shared that getting into legal trouble may not keep at least one club from grabbing him in the first round of the player-selection process.
NFL team wants Fernando Mendoza to tank his own draft stock
“It was: ‘Hey, maybe you should get arrested,'” Mendoza responded. “I was a little confused.”
Mendoza later acknowledged that the team simply wanted him to get arrested so that he would slide down the draft order in April. While he wouldn’t name that club, he did say he didn’t have a formal interview with the organization this week.
On paper, the New York Jets (pick No. 2), Arizona Cardinals (No. 3), Cleveland Browns (No. 6), Miami Dolphins (No. 11), Minnesota Vikings (No. 18) and Pittsburgh Steelers (No. 21) are among the teams that theoretically could set aside some bail money with Mendoza in mind, just in case. Unfortunately for them, there’s no indication he will be anything but a model citizen over the next two months.
What Fernando Mendoza wants to learn from Tom Brady
Earlier in the day, Mendoza made it clear that he is looking forward to receiving some guidance from seven-time Super Bowl champion and Raiders minority owner Tom Brady. During their chat, Kinkhabwala asked (around the 9:30 mark) Mendoza what he hopes to learn from Brady later this year.
“His system and his discipline,” Mendoza answered. “The way that he has a system, the ‘TB12 Method.’ I’ve already read the book. Everything that he’s all about is something I’ve always emulated as a football player. And whenever the coaching staff says, ‘Hey, Fernando. We need you to get better at this, this and that,’ I’ll be like, ‘Hey, Tom. How do I get better at this, this and that?'”
One can’t help but wonder if Mendoza has already embraced the strict in-season diet that Brady stuck to throughout the second half of his once-in-a-generation career.