The first round of the 2026 NFL Draft is set to begin on Thursday, and many believe Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza could be the No. 1 pick overall to the Las Vegas Raiders. Leading up to the draft, Mendoza was having some fun throwing the first pitch for Tuesday’s MLB game between the St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins.
Mendoza, who is 22 years old, showed off his throwing form by lobbing the baseball over home plate before the start of the game, throwing the baseball as if it were a football. The 2025-26 Heisman Trophy winner didn’t put any heat on it, but did throw it from the mound.
Heisman Trophy winner and national champion Fernando Mendoza tossed out the first pitch prior to tonight’s @Marlins game! pic.twitter.com/OCSlrl3Kot
— MLB (@MLB) April 21, 2026
Can’t blame Fernando Mendoza for playing it safe. Had he thrown it hard and the ball gone haywire like 50 Cent did that one time, the top prospect quarterback could have become a meme just days before the NFL Draft. Probably a good call on Mendoza’s part.
The general consensus appears that Fernando Mendoza will go No. 1 overall to the Las Vegas Raiders. We won’t know for certain until the draft begins on Thursday at 8 p.m. EST. However, it plays out, the Raiders need a young quarterback after signing Kirk Cousins this offseason.
Mendoza enters the league after playing three seasons of college football. He transferred to Indiana before the 2025-26 campaign after playing for the California Golden Bears for two years. That decision was seemingly the best he could have made, as Mendoza became a star in Curt Cignetti’s program.
Fernando Mendoza ended last season with 3,535 passing yards while leading the nation in passing touchdowns with 41. He managed to record those numbers while completing 72.0% of his pass attempts, while also totaling seven additional touchdowns on the ground.
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