Fernando Mendoza already had the hardware. At Indiana's pro day, he showed he has everything else too. The consensus No. 1 pick in the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft put on a workout that drew heavy representation from the Las Vegas Raiders, with general manager John Spytek and head coach Klint Kubiak both on the sideline watching.
Mendoza had skipped the NFL Scouting Combine, so this was the moment that mattered. His 2025 season at Indiana was one for the record books.
Mendoza won the Heisman Trophy, the Associated Press Player of the Year award, the Walter Camp Award, the Davey O'Brien Award and the Maxwell Award. He earned first-team All-American honors and was named the top quarterback in the Big Ten.
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On the field, he led the FBS with 41 passing touchdowns, set a school record, completed 72% of his throws for 3,535 yards and started all 16 games as Indiana won the national championship. The resume was already stacked before he threw a single ball at the pro day.
But for ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, the throws were not even the main takeaway.
"We can talk about how smooth he looked working from a simulated under center snap," Riddick said on NFL Draft Daily. "What does put work look like? How on balance he looked consistently, how tight the spiral was throwing the football both during his warm ups and largely for the entirety of his workout.
"We can talk about all that, but it's the way in which he commanded himself from the time he walked out on this field to the time he came over here and sat down and talked with me and answered the questions that he answered. It kind of oozed franchise-caliber quarterback type of stuff."
What stood out most to Riddick was how Mendoza ran the workout itself. There was no position coach feeding him instructions. Mendoza took over the script entirely, calling out each receiver by name, telling them their route, setting the timing and then delivering the throw. Every single rep looked deliberate. Nothing felt accidental.
Spytek and Kubiak watched from the sideline. Riddick caught the looks they exchanged, the quiet nods between them. It told its own story.
Mendoza was not out there just checking boxes. He was showing that he already understands what running an NFL offense looks like and more specifically what the Las Vegas Raiders have been missing at the position.
