A surprising pick has surpassed the Indiana quarterback at the top of The Athletic’s Nick Baumgardner’s Draft prospect list

By Joe Cox | ON SI at Sports Illustrated | May 28, 2026

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Sometimes, the obvious choice isn’t the correct choice, and that axiom could be true in the upcoming NFL Draft. For months, Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza has been the clear de facto No. 1 prospect (and potential pick) in the upcoming Draft. He’s the nation’s most reliable veteran QB, and in a draft where Dante Moore, Arch Manning, and LaNorris Sellers decided to stay in school, Mendoza has been the odds-on favorite to be No. 1.

But The Athletic’s Nick Baumgardner says, “Not so fast.” In a recent NFL Draft prospect rankings, Baumgardner dropped Mendoza to No. 2. Baumgardner doesn’t have any other quarterbacks in his top 20 prospects, which tracks with most Draft analysts’ sentiment, although a few have made big pronouncements about Alabama’s Ty Simpson.

But Baumgardner jumped Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love to the top overall prospect spot. Love has long been accepted as the top running back in the Draft– with about as clear a case as Mendoza’s claim on the top QB spot. No other running backs made Baumgardner’s list… Read More HERE

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