Super Bowl champ makes Tom Brady comparison for top 2026 prospect

Mar 29, 2026 - 20:00

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Super Bowl champ makes Tom Brady comparison for top 2026 prospect

Pressure has a way of defining quarterbacks, and Fernando Mendoza hasn’t flinched under it. The Indiana signal-caller has built his draft stock around leadership and execution, not just arm strength.

After moving from Cal, the Miami native helped turn Indiana into a force, finishing 16-0 and delivering the program’s first national championship. The numbers were solid, but what stood out was how he handled the big moments.

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Still, some draft analysts were not completely sold on where he belonged in the pecking order. That might be changing.

Chase Daniel sees Tom Brady traits in Fernando Mendoza

Former Super Bowl-winning quarterback Chase Daniel recently weighed in on “The Break Down” podcast. Daniel drew a comparison that’s hard to ignore, linking Mendoza’s skill set to Tom Brady’s approach to the position.

“I never thought of Tom Brady as like this huge, armed type guy like John Elway, right? I would say it’d probably be middle of the pack. That’s not what Brady was ever going to win you with. Brady was always going to win you with his brain,” Daniel said. “I think that’s where Fernando Mendoza really crosses that line for me as quarterback.”

The Brady mention is not just draft season noise. James Palmer reported that conversations at the NFL Scouting Combine pointed to the Las Vegas Raiders zeroing in on a specific quarterback profile. John Spytek apparently wants traits that match what Brady brought to the table for two decades.

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That is shaping how the team is evaluating this class, and Mendoza seems to be climbing their board. His Top-30 visit with the Raiders gave evaluators a chance to dig into how his football IQ and decision-making could fit.

The bigger test will be whether those skills translate into what Klint Kubiak wants to run on offense. Mendoza’s resume checks boxes, but fitting the system is what matters most now.