Which NFL team needs top 2026 draft prospect Fernando Mendoza the most?

The fact that Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza won the 2025 Heisman Trophy last week only reaffirmed his already long-earned status as the top quarterback prospect ahead of next year’s NFL draft.

The Hoosiers’ history-making season, powered by Mendoza’s arm, legs and calm under pressure, has made him the clear favourite to go first overall when eyes turn to the NFL’s next crop of stars in April.

And for a handful of NFL teams with shaky current quarterback situations, the draft – and the chance to select Mendoza – can’t come soon enough.

Here are the five teams that are most in need of some Mendoza magic.

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New York Jets

No franchise lives at the intersection of urgency and dysfunction quite like the Jets. The 2025 season has again exposed the fragility of their quarterback plan, with the headline free-agent signing of Justin Fields falling short of saving their signal-caller situation. New York’s passing efficiency remains among the league’s worst, with Fields benched midseason.

In trading away star defensive players Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams at the trade deadline, the Jets acquired enough draft capital to put together a package of assets that would be enough to tempt whoever ends up with the No.1 pick in 2026 to swap places with them – that’s if Aaron Glenn’s men don’t themselves earn the top selection through their pitiful record this season.

Las Vegas Raiders

This was supposed to be a season of renewed hope for Las Vegas. The arrival of Super Bowl-winning coach Pete Carroll was shortly followed by a trade that brought in a veteran Pro Bowl-calibre quarterback, Geno Smith.

Sadly, neither has worked out. Carroll has been unable to install the kind of tough, winning culture that defined his time in Seattle, and Smith has been a turnover machine whose costly contract now looks like a vast overpay.

The Raiders will be in contention for the No.1 overall pick by the end of the season and they’d jump at the chance to reset the clock at QB with Mendoza.

New Orleans Saints

The Saints’ quarterback dilemma is less chaotic in light of the recent performances of rookie Tyler Shough, a second-round pick from the 2025 draft. But New Orleans are stuck in the NFL’s most uncomfortable middle ground: not bad enough to reset easily, not good enough to contend seriously.

A collapse late in 2025 could put the Saints closer to the top of the 2026 draft than they’d like – and in that case, Mendoza would represent a clean, overdue reboot.

Cleveland Browns

Shedeur Sanders might be the most talked-about player in the NFL at the moment, but the fifth-round rookie is yet to clearly show he is capable of being the long-awaited answer to Cleveland’s quarterback woes.

Injuries, inconsistency and schematic friction have left the Browns with elite defensive performances wasted by an offense that can’t sustain drives or protect leads, with Sanders their third starter under center this season alone.

Cleveland holds two first-round picks in 2026 thanks to a shock draft-day trade that allowed the Jaguars to move up and pick Travis Hunter at No.2 in April. If they end up with a chance at Mendoza, the temptation to finally reset the position will be impossible to ignore.

Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals are the wild card in this race. On paper, they already have a quarterback with pedigree, but the results haven’t matched the investment.

Arizona’s offense still struggles with efficiency and rhythm, and questions about long-term direction abound after Veteran journeyman Jacoby Brissett replaced the injured Kyler Murray midseason.

If 2025 continues to stall, the Cardinals could find themselves asking whether Mendoza’s blend of poise, production and upside would be worth parting with significant draft capital to move up in the order come April.