Fernando Mendoza declares for the 2026 NFL Draft as only he can

Fernando Mendoza has made it official.

Less than a week after leading Indiana to the first national championship in school history, the Heisman Trophy winning quarterback has declared that he is entering the 2026 NFL Draft.

And he made the announcement as only he can, posting the news to LinkedIn:

Mendoza has been using LinkedIn as his main social media forum throughout his collegiate journey, and he even celebrated winning the title on that platform, complete with a jab at the numerous posts about “business to business sales” that you see on LinkedIn each day.

The Indiana passer is widely expected to be the first-overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, and Las Vegas Raiders decision makers were at Hard Rock Stadium on Monday night to see him play in person. They were treated to yet another “Heisman moment” from the quarterback, who vaulted into the end zone on a fourth-down touchdown run in the fourth quarter to stake Indiana to a two-score lead in the fourth quarter:

Mendoza is the consensus No. 1 pick in mock drafts, including the most recent mock draft from SB Nation. For more on his journey to Indiana — as well as what makes him the likely No. 1 pick — we have a breakdown of his game for you as well.