The NFL draft often produces first-rounds quarterback who entered his final college season flying under the radar. The guy who wasn’t the five-star recruit, last year’s starter, or power program arm who soaks up all the headlines. A year ago, the focus was on Georgia’s Carson Beck instead of Miami (FL)’s Cam Ward. In 2020, when Jake Fromm had all the preseason hype, Joe Burrow went from afterthought to No. 1 pick in a 12-month span . The 2026 NFL draft could break the same way and in CBS Sports’ latest mock draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers happily benefit.
In the site’s too-early mock draft, the Steelers select Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza with the 14th overall pick of the 2026 draft.
“His arm talent really shone,” said analyst Mike Renner of Mendoza. “For a Pittsburgh Steelers team that plays in an outdoor division, Mendoza is the perfect type of quarterback to fit into that offense.”
In a world where Pittsburgh is unable to pick in the top-five, a “late-riser” like Mendoza is the perfect scenario to still offer a potential franchise quarterback. Transferring from Cal to Indiana for 2025, his numbers at first blush don’t pop. Last year, he threw only 16 touchdowns across 11 games for a Golden Bears team who failed to even crack .500. Blame a poor roster, not Mendoza, for that.
“It was the worst I saw of any quarterback when I went through summer scouting,” Renner said of Cal’s porous offensive line. “It was basically, if he hit his back foot and the ball wasn’t out, he was getting hit on that play. His offensive line was not going to give him a second, third read.”
Cal quarterbacks were sacked 50 times a year ago, tied with Oklahoma for the FBS’ worst mark. That’s despite the Golden Bears finishing only 41st in passing attempts, far from the most throw-happy offense in the world. Mendoza simply lacked time in the pocket, hurting his numbers and the team. Still, he managed to throw for over 3,000 yards and complete almost 70-percent of his passes. Now, he’ll play for offensive guru Curt Cignetti and a rising Hoosiers’ program.
If selected in the first round, Mendoza would become the third Cal quarterback taken in the top 32 since 2005. Jared Goff went No. 1 in 2016 while Aaron Rodgers, the Steelers’ 2025 starter, fell to the Green Bay Packers in 2005. In 2003, Kyle Boller went 19th to the Baltimore Ravens.
If not Mendoza, our Jonathan Heitritter noted other darkhorse candidates to be in the 2026 running: Arkansas’ Taylor Green, Iowa’s Mark Gronowski, and Oklahoma’s John Mateer all made his list.
In the CBS mock, two quarterbacks went ahead of the Steelers’ picks. The New Orleans Saints selected LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier No. 1 overall, and the Indianapolis Colts took Penn State’s Drew Allar at No. 8. Two quarterbacks went after Mendoza. The Los Angeles Rams nabbed Clemson’s Cade Klubnik at No. 27 while the New York Jets, in a mock trade with the Philadelphia Eagles, selected South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers at No. 32. That made for five quarterbacks taken in the first round.
