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Jets Urged To Make Bold Nfl Draft Decision On Fernando Mendoza

Bonisiwe Shabane
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jets urged to make bold nfl draft decision on fernando mendoza

The New York Jets are in the middle of a completely lost season. Aaron Glenn and Darren Mougey have traded away a few key players on defense, Justin Fields and his $40 million contract haven't worked out at all, and the. 3-11 Jets looked hapless in Week 15. To say things have gone poorly would be an understatement. But there is a glimmer of hope on the horizon. The Jets, with a 3-11 record, have a chance to secure the top pick in the 2026 NFL Draft and take a franchise quarterback.

But, there's only one realistic option, Fernando Mendoza, and the Jets aren't picking first overall. Despite that, ESPN's Ben Solak is urging the Jets to make the bold decision to execute a trade-up at the upcoming NFL Draft to select Mendoza. "I generally eschew draft questions until I've actually gotten a handle on the class, but in the case of Fernando Mendoza, I've seen enough: He's pretty clearly a QB worthy of the No. 1 pick," Solak writes. "I don't know where the Jets will end up in the draft order, but they should try to trade up for Mendoza..." Mendoza has led the Indiana Hoosiers to the top regular-season seed in College Football, and in his Junior season, he has 2,980 passing yards with 33 touchdowns, six interceptions, and just won the Heisman...

The New York Jets are in one of the most unique positions in the NFL right now, armed with five first-round picks over the next two years. With a glaringly obvious need at quarterback, it’s safe to assume at least one of those selections will be a quarterback. But as for 2026, have the Jets won too many games to be in a prime position to select a signal-caller of their choosing? It’s possible. As of December 9, New York sits at No. 7 overall according to Tankathon, and the top quarterbacks, such as Fernando Mendoza and Dante Moore, are predicted to go within the top three picks.

Armed with a boatload of draft capital, should the Jets mortgage their future to trade up in the draft for one of the aforementioned quarterbacks? The New York Jets have five first-round draft choices over the next two years. Beat reporter Nick Faria of Jets X-Factor believes the team should use some of those assets to go get Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza after his gutsy performance versus Ohio State in the Big Ten... “I would give up multiple first-round picks to trade up and select Fernando Mendoza if I’m the Jets. When he has to make THE throw, he makes it. Every time.

Unreal ball placement,” Faria posted on social media. When he has to make THE throw, he makes it. Every time. Unreal ball placement. Mendoza, 22, completed 15-of-23 passes for 222 passing yards with one passing touchdown and one interception. He helped the Hoosiers upset the Buckeyes 13-10.

Indiana finished the season with a 13-0 record and will hold the No. 1 overall seed in the College Football Playoff. The New York Jets own two first-round picks in the 2026 NFL draft. The real-time order currently has those selections slotted for Nos. 7 and 18 overall. Despite losing to the Miami Dolphins in Week 14 and falling to 3-10, the Jets' own pick (seventh overall) did not move up the order.

If the Jets' two 2026 first-round draft choices stay in the current general area, GM Darren Mougey will have a difficult decision to make. With an additional three first-round selections in 2027 as a result of the Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams trades, the Jets possess the capital required to move up for a quarterback. Right now, Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza is playing like a signal-caller worth trading up for. Mendoza just led the Hoosiers to their first outright Big Ten Championship in 80 years after upsetting Ohio State in the title game. The undefeated 13-0 Hoosiers enter the College Football Playoff as the No. 1 seed.

Mendoza is beginning to establish himself as the likely top pick in the 2026 NFL draft. That's where things could get particularly interesting. The crosstown New York Giants are currently scheduled to own the No. 1 selection. With rookie Jaxson Dart at quarterback, the Giants would likely possess interest in trading the pick to a QB-needy organization. The Jets could put together an enticing offer.

The rebuilding Jets will have to assess how ready they feel to add a rookie quarterback to their roster. The 2026 NFL draft order will also continue changing and taking shape through Week 18. Unless the Jets drastically move up the order, which feels unlikely given how awful the Titans, Raiders, Giants, and Saints are, staying put and landing a quarterback isn't a guarantee. Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza scrambles with the ball as Ohio State's Sonny Styles tries to hang on during the Big Ten Championship Game. Michael Reaves / Getty Images While NFL coaches and executives have talked and talked about the pursuit of sustained success, the New York Jets have led the league in sustained failure.

They own the longest playoff drought in North American sports for a very specific reason. They have not identified, acquired and developed a quarterback who can consistently win games over the long haul. A painful truth that brings us to Fernando Mendoza of Indiana, the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night. He is the co-star of this revised “Hoosiers” script along with his head coach, Curt Cignetti, who is playing the role of Norman Dale with the same conviction as the late, great Gene Hackman. Mendoza will lead Indiana into the College Football Playoff with a 13-0 record, a No. 1 overall seed and a Big Ten title game victory over previously unbeaten and top-ranked Ohio State, the defending national champ, tucked firmly in his hip pocket.

The Jets have scouted him in person multiple times. Surely they have seen what any right-minded observer could see. The New York Jets hold more draft ammunition than any team in football, but one new projection suggests they might need nearly all of it to land their quarterback of the future in the... In a recent ESPN mock draft, Matt Miller mapped out an aggressive scenario in which the Jets would package both of their 2026 first-round picks — including the one acquired in the Sauce Gardner... 1 and select Indiana star Fernando Mendoza. That's a hefty price to pay, seeing as the projection has the Jets moving up just three spots.

We’re still five months away from the 2026 NFL Draft, and plenty can (and will) change. But the logic behind the move is obvious. Justin Fields has been benched, Tyrod Taylor is a short-term solution, and general manager Darren Mougey didn't stockpile five first-round picks across 2026 and 2027 just to watch someone else take the top quarterback... Still, moving up just three spots for Mendoza would be an outrageous swing at football’s most important position. No team owns a longer playoff drought than the New York Jets, who have not reached the postseason since 2010, and that stretch can be explained by poor roster building, especially the ongoing struggle... After yet another failed experiment, the Jets are expected to select their quarterback of the future in the 2026 draft, aiming once again to reclaim relevance in the conference while their division rivals establish...

The Jets now have one of the most dysfunctional situations in the NFL, and that became clear across the league this season at the trade deadline, when the team moved its two best defenders,... With those trades, the Jets stacked multiple draft picks for the coming years, now holding two first-round selections in 2026 and three in 2027, giving the team plenty of options for the seasons ahead. That starts in 2026, and Ayden Stroupe’s projection in his three-round mock draft is that Fernando Mendoza will be the team’s next big swing. “The Jets capitalize on a favorable draft board and secure their quarterback of the future. Fernando Mendoza’s poise, accuracy, and feel for timing-based concepts fit perfectly with New York’s offensive personnel. He consistently delivers with anticipation and works through reads calmly, traits that often translate quickly to the next level,” Stroupe wrote.

For decades, the Jets have been searching for a franchise quarterback. The 2026 NFL Draft could present the Jets with two possible options: Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza or Oregon quarterback Dante Moore. The problem is, the Jets would pick seventh in the 2026 NFL Draft if it were held today. That likely won’t be high enough to draft either Mendoza or Moore. But if the Jets are in love with either Mendoza or Moore, they should do whatever it takes to draft them. It isn’t like the Jets don’t have the draft capital to make a trade work.

They added three additional first-round picks after dealing both Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams at the trade deadline last month. The Jets received a 2026 first-round pick and a 2027 first-round pick for Gardner. They also obtained a 2026 second-round pick and a 2027 first-round pick for Williams.

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