Fernando Mendoza Breaks Indiana's First-Round NFL Draft Drought

The Indiana University football record books have been rewritten since Curt Cignetti stepped foot in Bloomington.

After a drought of more than 30 years, another box has been ticked off as Fernando Mendoza became the school’s first NFL Draft first-round pick since 1994.

Mendoza, the Heisman Trophy winner and marquee offensive player from IU’s run to a 16-0 campaign and a National Championship, was selected as the number one pick by the Las Vegas Raiders.

Who Was Indiana's Last First-Round Pick Prior to Mendoza?

Prior to Cignetti’s tenure, it was a dark few decades for the Indiana Hoosiers on the gridiron with very little elite talent entering or exiting the program.

The most recent first-round draft pick, prior to Thursday night’s Mendoza selection, was wide receiver Thomas Lewis in the 1994 NFL Draft. Lewis was selected by the New York Giants with the 24th overall pick and he played a few seasons, hauling in 74 receptions for 1,032 receiving yards before retiring after the 1997 season.

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Since the 1994 NFL Draft, the Hoosiers had several players selected in the second-round, highlighted by quarterback/wide receiver Antwaan Randle El (2002), wide receiver James Hardy (2008), offensive tackle Rodger Saffold (2010) and offensive tackle Jason Spriggs (2016) but Mendoza finally broke through and returned IU representation to the first-round.

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Mendoza Becomes IU's Second No. 1 Pick

Fernando Mendoza is not IU’s first top overall pick. Way back in 1938, fullback Corby Davis was selected number one by the Cleveland Browns.

Davis was a Swiss Army knife type player, and he punted, kicked, played defense, served as a blocker in the backfield and even completed a forward pass during his NFL career.

Fernando Mendoza only spent one season in Bloomington but it is a year that no IU fan is ever going to forget.

He threw for more than 3,500 yards with 41 passing touchdowns, along with seven rushing touchdowns, and continues to be a standout ambassador for the program off the field.

He is expected to backup Kirk Cousins for at least some of his rookie season before becoming the franchise quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders.

IU is expected to have as many as nine players selected in the 2026 NFL Draft and the program shows no signs of slowing down with plenty of young talent on display in Thursday night's Spring Game.

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