Not a one-year wonder, Las Vegas Raiders’ No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza was a baller at Cal

TALLAHASSEE, FL - SEPTEMBER 21: California Golden Bears quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) passes during a college football game between the California Golden Bears and the Florida State Seminoles on September 21st, 2024 at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, FL. (Photo by Chris Leduc/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images It comes with the territory of being the No. 1 overall pick of the 2026 NFL draft , but new Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza has been unfairly scrutinized as a “one-year wonder”.

Sure, the Heisman trophy winner’s best season was this past one at Indiana. But make no mistake about it, he was a baller at Cal before hitting the transfer portal and linking up with Curt Cignetti in Bloomington. In typical Mendoza fashion, he didn’t have an eye-catching stat line during the 2024 campaign, completing 68.

7 percent of his passes for 3,004 yards and 16 touchdowns with six interceptions. But the former Golden Bear showed plenty of traits on tape that people who pay close attention to the draft took note of heading into the 2025 season. Cory Kinnan from Daft on Draft called his shot just a few days after the 2025 draft, deeming Mendoza the top quarterback in this year’s class when the overarching thought was that Arch Manning was destined to be the No.

1 pick. Additionally, Bleacher Report’s Scouting Department had Mendoza as the top quarterback and sixth-ranked prospect overall at the beginning of August (h/t offensive skill position scout Dame Parson ). In other words, don’t buy the narrative that the Raiders’ new quarterback is just riding the high of one good season.