Heisman Winner Fernando Mendoza Doesn’t Plan to Attend NFL Draft and Visited With Raiders
The 2026 NFL Draft presented by Bud Light is coming to the Steel City on April 23-25, 2026. Therefore, we are just a little more than two weeks away; 16 days in total before the three-day event commences. But for now, there is a smidge of news emerging regarding the suspected number one overall pick. Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza doesn’t plan to attend the NFL Draft but he visited with the Raiders on Tuesday.
The 91st edition of the NFL Draft will be hosted in Pittsburgh for the first time since 1948. A total of 257 picks will be spread over seven rounds. While many players elect to take in the festivities in the host city; there are still many others who enjoy spending their big, life changing moment surrounded by their family and friends. Mendoza has chosen the latter.
Adam Schefter confirmed the NFL Draft news regarding Fernando and provided a little bit of history on this type of decision. He states,
“Projected No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza has informed the NFL that he is not planning to attend the NFL Draft in Pittsburgh this month, per sources. Mendoza wants to share the draft experience with his family in Miami.
The last time a No. 1 overall pick QB did not attend the NFL Draft was in 2021, when the Jaguars selected Trevor Lawrence.”
Other non-pandemic No. 1 overall selections who were not present at the NFL Draft include Travon Walker (2022), Trevor Lawrence (2021), Baker Mayfield (2018), Myles Garrett (2017) and Jameis Winston (2015). So then, it is more common than one may think.
Heisman Winner Fernando Mendoza Doesn’t Plan to Attend NFL Draft and Visited With Raiders
Now what about that meeting we mentioned at the outset? Well, the presumptive No. 1 overall pick, Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza was in the building to visit with the Las Vegas Raiders. The silver and black is the franchise that holds the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming NFL draft. The 30 visit is one of the final pieces of a detailed process the Vegas organization is going through in vetting the Heisman winner.
Mendoza’s Top 30 visit with the Las Vegas Raiders is his only scheduled visit. Basically, during this time they’ll be able to introduce him to those in and around the team. Plus, build off the other (zoom) meetings, in trying to dot every i and cross every t. The decision to take a quarterback that high in the draft generally means tying your job security to a guy, and having the level of confidence to do that with a player takes a lot of time. Nevertheless, looks like the Raiders are diligently making sure they have the right guy for the future. So far, all signs point to Mendoza.
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