Grade

1st Round

2026 Draft Class

NFL Comparison: More athletic Matt Ryan

Fernando Mendoza

Grade

Status

DraftedR1 • P1Las Vegas Raiders

Indiana

6'5''

225lbs

Mar 8, 2026

Executive Summary

Fernando Mendoza is a tough, high-IQ pocket passer who excels at processing defenses, manipulating defenders with his eyes, and delivering accurate timing throws with anticipation, making him an ideal fit for a structured West Coast offense. While his arm strength and athleticism are solid rather than elite, his leadership and ability to operate within structure give him the tools to develop into a reliable high-level starting quarterback.

Strengths

-Processing and Game IQ- -Leadership and Toughness- -Accuracy and Ball Placement-

Weaknesses

-Mobility- -Play Extension-

Full Scouting Report

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Processing / Game IQ

Pros:

•Reads defenses very well in RPO

•More often than not will make the correct read and decision

•Does a very solid job getting through his progressions

•Does a fantastic job throwing with anticipation on outs and comebacks

•Always keeps his eyes downfield in the face of pressure

•Does a great job avoiding sacks and throwing the ball away

•Manipulating defenders with his eyes

•Amazing pre-snap and post-snap reads

•Reads defenders hips very well

Cons:

•Sometimes just doesn’t make the correct read

•Can be too slow at getting through progressions at times

•Benefited from a high RPO system that didn’t force him to make a ton of progressional reads

•Next to zero experience under center

Accuracy & Ball Placement

Pros:

•Has great timing with his receivers

•Does a good job letting his receivers run under the ball

•Solid deep ball

•Can use a variety of different velocities on the ball

•Pretty elite ball placement

•Does a great job giving his receiver a chance in a jump ball or 1-on-1 scenario

•Throws a great back-shoulder ball

Cons:

•Misses receivers that are breaking open sometimes

•Can definitely have lapses in accuracy when going through progressions

Improvisation / Play Extension

Pros:

•Can be elusive with the ball both in the pocket and when scrambling/running

•Flashes the ability to step into his throws even when he’s gonna get blown up

•Flashes the ability to throw well on rollouts

•If the middle is left wide open he will take advantage with his legs

•Made some incredible plays scrambling with his legs

Cons:

•Not the greatest off-platform thrower

•Improvisation and play extension skills will always be limited by his athleticism slightly

•Loses a fair amount of velocity on his off-platform throws

Arm Talent (Strength + Angles)

Pros:

•Has the arm strength to make long throws to the other numbers on out and curl routes

•Can have a very quick release on RPOs and quick routes

•Has the arm strength to make any throw in a game just won’t be elite

•Has plenty of zip on the ball in his short and intermediate throws

Cons:

•His release isn’t effortless it seems like he is laboring sometimes

•Doesn’t have the top-of-the-line arm strength

•Hasn’t displayed a serious ability to throw from different arm slots

Athleticism / Mobility

Pros:

•Has enough athleticism and speed to scramble and run on designed runs occasionally

Cons:

•Not gonna be an incredible scrambler and more often than not will probably get caught

•Straight line sprinter

Mechanics / Footwork

Pros:

•Has pretty clean footwork

•Throw release is clean

•Extremely fast release

Cons:

•Play fakes can be pretty lackluster

•Average to barely above average pocket presence and awareness

•Needs to slide more

Poise / Leadership / Toughness

Pros:

•Stays very calm and poised in the pocket

•Not afraid to lay his body on the line

•Great leader

•Has a next-play mentality

•Not gonna whine or complain to the refs

•Can take a lick

•Can lead a clutch drive

•Wasn’t afraid of the moment and went out and won the title

Cons:

•None

Games Watched:

•Week 1 vs ODU / Week 5 vs IOWA / Week 6 vs ORE / Week 10 vs PSU / Week 13 vs OSU /

Ideal Situation:

Needs a good jump ball receiver, solid o-line, and a good HC, West Coast with some RPO mixed in. Could start Day 1, but I think, like every rookie QB, he should have a couple of weeks to a full season to develop. He’s going to be a high-level game manager. A more athletic and dangerous version of Matt Ryan and Jared Goff.

Rating:

•Processing / Game IQ- 9.2

•Accuracy & Ball Placement- 8.6

•Improvisation / Play Extension- 7.7

•Arm Talent (Strength + Angles)- 7.9

•Athleticism / Mobility- 7.2

•Mechanics / Footwork- 8.5

•Poise / Leadership / Toughness- 9.5

Total = 84.2/100 (B) Late 1st to Early 2nd

Combine Testing

Height

6'5"

84thVery Good

Weight

236lbs

91thElite

40-Yard Dash

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Vertical

—

Bench

—

Broad Jump

—

Three-Cone

—

Shuttle

—

DPH Proprietary Scores

Frame Score

Measures a prospect's physical build and size relative to historical NFL positional standards.

DPH Athlete

Diamond Prospects' proprietary athletic score that evaluates a player's overall athletic profile using combine testing and positional percentiles.

Total Score

The combined athletic evaluation generated from Frame Score and DPH Athlete Score.

Combine Year: 2026 • Data from DPH Combine Database

Andrés Griñe

Founder of DiamondProspects and Head NFL Scout View Full Bio

I am an Assistant in Player Personnel/Scouting for Washington State Football with over six years of experience scouting NFL prospects and evaluating talent. I previously covered high school baseball as a writer for NMPreps and now run DiamondProspects, where I publish scouting reports, prospect evaluations, and draft analysis. I am currently a junior pursuing a degree in Sports Management and am originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Comments (1)

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Jandro

New Mexico Lobos

Golden State Warriors

Las Vegas Raiders⭐ Diego Pavia ⭐ Fernando Mendoza 👁️ 📋 ⏱️ ⭐ 📊 🗺️ 👟 ⚡ 🔦 🏅

4 months ago

Let’s go Raiders! Hopefully he doesn’t have to play in year 1.