The college football and NFL seasons haven’t even kicked off yet, but it’s never too early to shift some attention to the 2026 NFL Draft, which just so happens to be in Pittsburgh next April.
The Steelers should be in the market for a potential franchise quarterback after going through the 2025 season with 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers — he turns 42 in December — under center.
Though Rodgers wouldn’t entirely rule out it being his last season during training camp, chances are the Steelers are going to do everything they can to land a potential franchise QB in the first round. After all, they have a projected 12 draft picks to work with, so they can afford to be aggressive and potentially overpay to move up for their guy.
In the latest mock draft from longtime NFL Draft analyst Todd McShay that published Thursday, the Steelers don’t move up, but they still land a potential franchise QB at No. 15 overall.
That would be Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, who previously played at Cal.
“Aaron Rodgers is a one-year solution, and sixth-round pick Will Howard looks more like a good career backup than the quarterback of the future. Mendoza isn’t there yet, but I saw a lot of positives — including a snappy release, excellent touch, and a plus arm — in his tape this summer,” McShay writes regarding the Steelers’ selection of Mendoza in his mock draft.
After a summer of tape study and with the college football season just around the corner, @McShay13 is back to debut his “appropriately early” 2026 Mock Draft. Subscribe (for free) to The McShay Report to read:https://t.co/5hS0Rr3SFZ
— The Ringer (@ringer) August 14, 2025
McShay has Clemson QB Cade Klubnik going to the Cleveland Browns at No. 1 overall, LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier to the New York Jets at No. 4, South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers to the Las Vegas Raiders at No. 6, and then Mendoza to the Steelers as the only first-round quarterbacks.
He has Texas’ Arch Manning going back to school, and Penn State’s Drew Allar falling out of the first round entirely, which is surprising.
Mendoza is a big quarterback who came on strong last season with the Golden Bears, making some plays with his arm and showing some mobility and toughness in the process. Last season, Mendoza threw for 3,004 yards and 16 touchdowns, adding another 105 rushing yards and two touchdowns. He had just six interceptions on the season.
Against the Pitt Panthers at Acrisure Stadium on Oct. 10, Mendoza threw for 272 yards and a touchdown on 27-of-37 passing, putting up a good performance in a game where there were probably some Steelers scouts in attendance, even with the Steelers on the road that week against the Raiders.
After his strong season at Cal, Mendoza transferred to Indiana to pay under head coach Curt Cignetti, giving him a chance to further boost his draft stock.
Steelers Depot’s Jonathan Heitritter recently profiled Mendoza as part of his summer scouting and had good things to say about him.
“Mendoza is legitimately someone who has the profile to be near the top [of the draft] given his measurables, tape, and intangibles.”
In a quarterback class headlined by the likes of Klubnik, Allar and Sellers, Mendoza might be flying under the radar a bit and could be one of the better ones coming out of the 2025 season.
Check out the full report from Heitritter below.
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