Fernando Mendoza Voted QB1 in 2026 NFL Draft in ESPN Poll of Scouts, Execs

As one of the Heisman frontrunners for the 2025 college season, Indiana's Fernando Mendoza is also the current favorite to be the first quarterback taken in the 2026 NFL draft.

In a poll of 25 NFL scouts and executives conducted by ESPN's Pete Thamel, Mendoza received 13 votes as the top quarterback in the 2026 class.

Oregon's Dante Moore (six) and Alabama's Ty Simson (three) were the only other quarterbacks who received more than one vote. Oklahoma's John Mateer, Cincinnati's Brendan Sorsby and South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers all received a single vote.

One thing Thamel did point out was how much the poll has shifted since the previous iteration was released on Sept. 20. That one had Sellers at the top with eight votes, followed by Garrett Nussmeier with seven.

Mendoza, Moore and Simpson didn't receive a single vote in the September poll.

"It's not a stellar class," one scout told Thamel about the new poll. "If you add the maybes [who have eligibility and could leave school], now it gets interesting. The top is better than last year's class, for sure."

Even though Mendoza got more than half of the votes from the 25 respondents in the poll, Thamel noted he has not yet established himself as a "no-brainer" candidate for the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming draft.

One scout did praise Mendoza his "'wow' throws and playmaking passer ability."

Moore's inclusion in the rankings comes at a point when it's unclear if he will even be part of the '26 draft discussion. The Ringer's Todd McShay said on his podcast this week that one scout said to "book it" in reference to Moore returning to Oregon next season.

B/R NFL scouting department's most recent top 100 big board had Mendoza as the only quarterback in the top 10 overall. Moore (No. 11) and Simpson (No. 19) were the only other quarterback prospects with a top-32 grade.

However, in B/R's latest mock draft, Mendoza, Simpson and Moore came off the board within the top six picks.

Quarterbacks historically get elevated in the draft because of the positional value, so even if there's some skepticism about all of the signal-callers in the upcoming class, it won't be a surprise if at least two of them come off the board very early in the first round next spring.