With the end of the regular season and the playoffs still yet to start, the 2026 NFL draft has emerged as the biggest talking point. As the Las Vegas Raiders hold the top pick, the Indiana Hoosiers quarterback, Fernando Mendoza, has emerged as the consensus number one selection. While many experts and fans have backed Vegas to select Mendoza, former ‘Last Chance U’ coach Jason Brown—who rightly predicted Cleveland Browns star Shedeur Sanders’ draft day slide—believes this isn’t the case.

“Well, what does he do?” Brown made the statement during his appearance on the Fearless podcast, hosted by Jason Whitlock. “What’s sustainable that he does right now at the NFL level? There’s nothing he does. He doesn’t throw as good a deep ball as Shedeur Sanders, by the way. Mendoza offers nothing, nothing that we are like, oh, shoot, I got to keep my first-round pick for him.” He didn’t stop atsaying just that, as you would expect.

“That Mendoza guy is not special at all… I said that Shedeur was a fifth-rounder. He went in the fifth round. I was one of the only ones that I know on record that said it, prior. And then Mendoza is a fifth-round guy. Why? Not close!”

Brown further suggested that if he picked Fernando Mendoza on behalf of the Raiders, he would rather trade him for as many assets as possible, trade Max Crosby, and ‘clean the house.’

“Mendoza first pick. If they do that… I need to stop watching football.” Brown was seen shaking his head in the video as he made this statement.

Fernando Mendoza has had an incredible 2025 season, as he took home the Heisman Trophy and has recorded 3,172 yards and 36 TDs on a 72.3% completion rate, while rushing for 256 yards and six scores in 14 starts.

But despite these stellar numbers, questions are raised about his arm strength and throwing the long ball. Through his first 13 games of the 2025 season, Mendoza is 67th among FBS quarterbacks with 43 deep pass attempts (20+ air yards), as reported by JetsXFactor.

The Steel Curtain Network also made a similar analysis about the Indiana Hoosiers QB1.

“He also does not have an elite deep ball. He knows how to spot an open receiver down the field, but rarely does he hit a receiver in stride. If he wants to see more deep balls turn into touchdowns, delivering the deep ball to a receiver in stride will make it happen,” the scouting report on Mendoza read.

While Brown’s comments might have hinted toward a radical option, another NFL insider suggested a similar approach for the Raiders.

Raiders urged trading the 1st overall pick over drafting Fernando Mendoza

Like coach Jason Brown, NFL expert Steven Cheah also wants the Las Vegas Raiders to trade the first overall pick instead of drafting Fernando Mendoza. Cheah justified this call by highlighting the Raiders’ dismal offensive line, which has been one of the worst in the NFL this season.

The Raiders were first in sacks allowed (64) and had the highest sack rate (10.6%) in the NFL. For context, the NFL average is 40.2 sacks allowed per team with a 6.5% sack rate. Hence, Cheah wants Las Vegas to trade away their top pick in the 2026 draft.

“I would look to potentially move it, especially since this year’s quarterback crop is not viewed as the highest. And if you love Fernando Mendoza, take Mendoza. But I would probably look to build out the team more to be ready for a franchise quarterback,” Cheah said during his Wake Up Barstool appearance.

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As various options emerge for Las Vegas, the Raiders nation will hope their franchise makes the right choice and moves forward in their rebuild by either drafting Fernando Mendoza or by making the perfect trade to fix the glaring issues on their roster.