There is little to no doubt that Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza is going to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft at the end of April. The Las Vegas Raiders need a quarterback and he appears to be the pick.

While it looks like he will be off the board in one pick, that isn’t stopping Mendoza from holding meetings with other NFL teams. Some formal, some informal. And in some of those meetings, he is being told some crazy things. One team apparently even suggested Mendoza should get arrested to hurt his draft stock and slide down the board so they could pick him.

“It was, ‘Hey, maybe you should get arrested.’ I was like — I was a little confused,” Mendoza said in an interview with CBS Sports’ Aditi Kinkhabwala. “But then (I realized) it was like to slide (in the NFL Draft.)”

There are plenty of teams that could have been the culprit of the crazy suggestion for Mendoza. The New York Jets, Arizona Cardinals, Cleveland Browns and Miami Dolphins are all teams in the Top 15 picks that are likely to be looking for a quarterback. Could it be one of them?

Mendoza would not bill the beans, unfortunately. He was willing to share the story, but would not go as far as telling CBS which team it was that told him to get locked up.

“It was not one of the teams I had a formal interview with,” Mendoza said. “So I’m not gonna — I don’t want to expose the team.”

Raiders, Tom Brady interested in Mendoza

Assuming it is the Raiders who take Mendoza at No. 1 overall, they will be getting a star to hopefully turn things around for a franchise currently in search of answers. Mendoza carried the Hoosiers to an undefeated season and national championship, throwing for 3,535 yards, 41 touchdowns and just six interceptions this past season.

Las Vegas will not turn in its draft card until that Thursday night in Pittsburgh, but team ownership is clearly fond of Mendoza. Former NFL quarterback and minority owner Tom Brady spoke about Mendoza with Colin Cowherd in late January.

“I haven’t been to a college football game in so long,” Brady said on The Herd. “I’d never been to a national championship game. But just to see the environment, the atmosphere. Did it feel too big for anybody? He played tremendous all season – 16-0, leading his team.

“He’s another guy that when you hear him speak. I always kind of judge quarterbacks, I go, ‘How would I have answered that?’ He’s just a very mature young man. He’s got a bright future.”