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Pittsburgh will not get Fernando Mendoza on April 23. The Indiana quarterback, widely projected as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, has informed the league that he will not be traveling to Pennsylvania for the event, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Tuesday.
Mendoza wants to watch the moment unfold from Miami, surrounded by family. That decision makes sense the second you understand why Miami matters so much to him.
His mother's health makes the Miami setting personal, not optional
Mendoza's mother, Elsa, lives with multiple sclerosis. Getting her to Pittsburgh was never a realistic option. Staying home in Miami, where Mendoza grew up and attended Christopher Columbus High School, means she gets to be part of the moment without the burden of travel.
The Las Vegas Raiders hold the top pick and are expected to call his name first. He won the Heisman Trophy and led Indiana to their first national championship as the program finished 16-0 before beating Miami 27-21 in the College Football Playoff title game.
This decision will obviously put him in notable company. Travon Walker watched from Atlanta in 2022, and Trevor Lawrence stayed home in 2021. Baker Mayfield and Myles Garrett also did the same thing years prior.
None of those decisions diminished anything that actually followed. Mendoza is also scheduled to visit the Raiders today in Las Vegas, keeping the pre-draft process moving as expected.
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