Fernando Mendoza wows during Pro Day in front of Raiders brass weeks before NFL draft

Fernando Mendoza #15 of the Indiana Hoosiers throws a pass during the 2026 IU Pro Day at John Mellencamp Pavilion on April 01, 2026 in Bloomington, Indiana.

Fernando Mendoza showed why he is the presumptive No. 1 overall pick in this month’s NFL draft during his pro day on Wednesday, which drew representatives from all 32 NFL teams to Bloomington, Indiana.

The former Hoosiers quarterback completed 53 of his 56 throws on Wednesday, which included completing his first 23 passes, according to NFL Network. 

The outlet reported that his only true off-target pass of the day came when he slightly overthrew on a “go” route.

Fernando Mendoza scrambles during the 2026 IU Pro Day at John Mellencamp Pavilion on April 1, 2026 in Bloomington, Indiana. Getty Images

It would seem that Mendoza made a good impression on the Raiders brass that was in attendance on Wednesday, with the organization that holds the first overall pick sending 10 representatives — including general manager John Spytek and head coach Klint Kubiak. 

“I feel like it went great,” Mendoza told reporters. “You know quarterbacks have passed, have done shorter pro days than that. However, I just wanted to make sure everybody could showcase their abilities in front of all 32 NFL teams and really run routes that are applicable to the timing we’re going to be running in the NFL.”

NEW: Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza with the throw of the DAY…

Mendoza uncorked this deep ball to EJ Williams.

Absolutely money pic.twitter.com/AJHDOK8kZx

— College Transfer Portal (@CollegeFBPortal) April 1, 2026

Mendoza is coming off a stellar season, one in which he took the country by storm through his humble and wholesome personality off the field and his fierce ability to step up in big moments on it. 

He became the first Indiana player to ever win a Heisman Trophy and helped lead the program to its first-ever national championship in football. 

Mendoza had completed 72 percent of his passes in his final collegiate season and threw for 3,535 yards and 41 touchdowns. 

Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza throws a pass during the 2026 IU Pro Day at John Mellencamp Pavilion on April 1, 2026 in Bloomington, Indiana. Getty Images

All of which has put him in position to be the top pick in this year’s draft, though he knows he’s still got plenty to learn once he reaches the NFL. 

“I’m putting all of my efforts toward just trying to be the best quarterback possible for the season,” Mendoza said. “But I know at the next level, there’s going to be a lot more snaps under center and that’s a big adjustment. I need to get used to that and just the nature of the game. Not only that, the hash [marks] are more condensed and the speed of the game is faster. So all those things, I look forward to learning.”

Mendoza has met with the Raiders twice already. 

Las Vegas has the No. 1 pick after going 3-14 during an abysmal season in 2025. 

The NFL draft is slated to take place in Pittsburgh beginning on Thursday, April 23, at Acrisure Stadium.

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Odell Beckham met with John Harbaugh at league meeting in Arizona

Free agent wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and Giants head coach John Harbaugh sat down together at this week's league meeting in Arizona.

No deal is imminent but the Giants do have interest in brining Beckham back, according to ESPN.

Harbaugh, who coached Beckham in 2023 on the Ravens, said at the league meeting that he and Beckham have remained in touch, and that he considers Beckham one of his favorite people in the world.

Beckham didn't play at all last season, and Giants General Manager Joe Schoen said the Giants would need to work him out before they'd sign him.

"Somebody that hasn't played, in this instance you're talking about Odell hasn't played in a year, you'd certainly want to see him work out," Schoen said.

Beckham hasn't gained even 600 receiving yards in a season since 2019, so he's long past the days when he was one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. But that's what he was on the Giants, and the Giants sound open to at least giving him a chance to come in for a workout and show he can still play.

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Kellen Moore calls Tyler Shough's rookie year "a great journey"

The Saints had a first-year coach and a rookie quarterback in 2025, and they came out of it thinking they have two of the most important pieces in place.

Although the 6-11 record wasn't great, the Saints went 5-4 once Tyler Shough stepped in as the starting quarterback, a marked turnaround from their 1-7 start with Spencer Rattler at quarterback. Saints head coach Kellen Moore said on PFT Live that Shough's rookie season set him up for a successful career.

"It turned into a great journey for him through the entire season," Moore said.

Moore said that when Shough didn't beat out Rattler for the starting job at the beginning of the season, he immediately shifted his mindset to doing everything he could on the scout team.

"I'm gonna be the best scout team quarterback in the league. I'm gonna get to test myself, I'm gonna make throws and see if I can make this throw in this situation, do it on the field," Moore said Shough told him at the time.

Moore said he saw Shough get better over the course of the season, especially with his poise in the pocket and ability to make the right decisions when the play broke down. This year Moore thinks Shough will be better still, thanks to a full offseason, training camp and preseason of working with the No. 1 offense.

"His reps with the core group, he's not going to be rotating with the rest of the quarterbacks, he's going to be with the top group and getting a lot of reps with those guys before the start of the season," Moore said.

If Shough can get better, and Moore can get the rest of the team playing better around him, the Saints may finally return to the playoffs for the first time since Drew Brees was their quarterback and Sean Payton was their head coach.

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Celtics vs. Hornets player grades: Tatum takeover leads to buzzkill in Charlotte

Without Derrick White and Jaylen Brown, Boston went into the Spectrum Center and beat Charlotte 114-99 in Jayson Tatum’s first 30-plus game of the year and 28 points from Payton Pritchard.

The Celtics got crushed by the Hornets just three weeks ago 118-89 at TD Garden and had won seven of their last nine games, but strong contributions from role players up and down the rotation was too much for the Hornets to overcome on the second night of a back-to-back. They’ll play each other again on April 7th back in Boston in what could be a first round preview.

With two weeks to go, the Celtics have clinched a spot in the playoffs and been a steady +600 at our friends at FanDuel to raise Banner 19 and the favorite to rep the Eastern Conference in the 2026 NBA Finals.

Jayson Tatum

30 minutes, 32 points (5-10 from 3, 3-5 from the free throw line, 12-23 from the field), 5 rebounds, 8 assists, one block, +15

Maybe it was because the game was so close to Durham where he played his college ball or maybe he’s starting to feel more like himself at Game #11, but Jayson Tatum looked really like Jayson Tatum against the Hornets.

In the zone 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/HfpVIXWhFo

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) March 29, 2026

The three-point shot was going down (hitting half of his ten three-point attempts), but more importantly, his drives were more aggressive, getting to the cup and the free throw line. He became the youngest Celtic ever to hit 14,000 points.

Grade: A+

Sam Hauser

33 minutes, 7 points (2-4 from 3, 1-2 from the free throw line, 2-4 from the field), 3 rebounds, +13

It was another game that felt like Hauser was just out there. He made half of his four attempts from behind the arc and was a +13 playing mostly with the starters.

Grade: B

Neemias Queta

28 minutes, 17 points (0-1 from 3, 1-2 from the free throw line, 8-13 from the field), 8 rebounds, one assist, one steal, one block, +13

It always seems like when one of the Jays has it going, Queta is going to have a good game, too. It’s that symbiotic relationship between superstar and active big. Whenever the defense collapsed on Tatum or Pritchard, Queta either got the dish in the dunker spot or grabbed the offensive rebound for a putback.

Grade: A

Jordan Walsh

33 minutes, 3 points (0-4 from 3, 1-1 from the free throw line, 1-7 from the field), 7 rebounds, 2 assists, one steal, +14

As LaMelo Ball’s primary cover, Walsh put the clamps on him as a starter. Ball missed his first five shots of the game — he scored his first points in transition cross-matched against Pritchard. Ball would get it going in the second half and finish with 19, but Walsh’s work early cut off the head of the snake and allowed Boston to get out to an early double-digit lead and never look back.

In addition to his individual defense, Walsh got his hands on a lot of loose balls and deflected even more in Boston’s favor.

Grade: A

Payton Pritchard

37 minutes, 28 points (2-6 from 3, 6-6 from the free throw line, 10-18 from the field), 6 rebounds, 6 assists, one steal, 2 turnovers, +12

With Brown and White both out, Pritchard started for just the second time since being regulated back to the bench since the Celtics swapped Anfernee Simons for Nikola Vucevic. He didn’t disappoint. Eight of his buckets came in the mid-range

Grade: A

Baylor Scheierman

28 minutes, 14 points (3-7 from 3, 3-4 from the free throw line, 4-11 from the field), one rebound, 3 assists, 2 turnovers, +6

Scheierman broke into the rotation playing solid defense and hitting his threes, but over the last few weeks, we’re getting a little more of the Baylor Showmanship that got us excited at the end of last season. I mean, look at this:

"THAT'S SICK!" Baylor Scheierman showing off 🥵 pic.twitter.com/mbxypt3TAY

— NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSBoston) March 29, 2026

He had the most points off the bench (14) on a night when they were sorely needed with two starters out with injuries.

Grade: A-

Luka Garza

13 minutes, 2 points (1-1 from the field), one rebounds, +8

The Hornets are primarily a perimeter team, so Garza played just 13 minutes in Charlotte for a +8 stint. No complaints.

Grade: C

Hugo Gonzalez

12 minutes, 3 points (1-2 from 3, 1-2 from the field), 3 rebounds, one steal, -12

Gonzalez’s minutes are on the decline since the start of March. He’s played in every game and has injected that infectious energy that sometimes seems to swing the momentum in Boston’s favor when they need it. He took a couple of cracks at LaMelo and made a three-pointer.

Grade: C

Ron Harper Jr.

14 minutes, 7 points (1-1 from 3, 3-3 from the field), 3 rebounds, one assist, one steal, one block, +10

Dude just floats around the court and finds ways to score. Before spraining his right ankle and leaving the game for the locker room, he bridged the first and second quarter hitting all three of his shots in a variety of ways: cutting backdoor on a screen, driving in semi-transition, and leaking out and canning a 3. He’s been a valuable contributor on his two-way deal and hopefully, he’ll sign with the big club this summer.

Grade: A

Charles Bassey, Jon Tonje, Amari Williams, Max Shulga

Mop up duty for the Maine crew.

Inactive: Jaylen Brown, Derrick White

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