There's a lot of buzz and excitement surrounding Shedeur Sanders and the Cleveland Browns after this past Sunday's victory over the Las Vegas Raiders.
Could Sanders be the long-term guy that the Browns have been looking for a millennium? Maybe, but considering how Cleveland's brass and coaching staff view him, the odds aren't in his favor.
That's why The Athletic's Nick Baumgardner has the Browns selecting a new quarterback with their first-round pick in his latest 2026 mock draft.
The Athletic mock draft has Browns selecting Fernando Mendoza
With the No. 8 overall pick, Baumgardner has Cleveland selecting University of Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza.
"As with Simpson, a big playoff run against top-end defenses could go a long way toward easing some of the inconsistency/lack of data questions scouts have about Mendoza," wrote Baumgardner.
"Both quarterbacks feel like high-floor passers — they might not rewrite the NFL record book, but they’ll absolutely play winning football."
Mendoza would be a slam dunk at eighth overall; most analysts and draft gurus project him as the best quarterback in the class, and most mocks project him to go within the top three.
In 11 starts this year, the Indiana standout has completed 73% of his passes for 2,641 yards to go along with 30 touchdowns and five interceptions.
If Mendoza is still on the board once Cleveland is on the clock next April, the Browns brass would likely waste little time calling in their pick for their hopeful franchise quarterback.
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- Browns predicted to be aggressive in replacing Shedeur Sanders in 2026
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