How Mel Kiper Jr.'s Fernando Mendoza take ties in to Shedeur Sanders' Colorado draft slide

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How Mel Kiper Jr.'s Fernando Mendoza take ties in to Shedeur Sanders' Colorado draft slide originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

It's hard to forget, but in case you've forgotten: ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. had Shedeur Sanders ranked as his No. 1 quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft class.

The long-time guru had the Colorado QB ahead of Cam Ward, who went No. 1 overall. And of course, Sanders famously slid all the way to the fifth round and the Cleveland Browns.

Could history repeat itself? It sure doesn't seem likely.

Kiper is on board with everyone else this year. He's got Fernando Mendoza as his top quarterback.

And this time around, that QB1 won't be going to the fifth round. He likely won't even be dropping to the second pick.

Kiper, in a new mock draft released on ESPN.com on Thursday, slots Mendoza as the No. 1 overall pick to the Las Vegas Raiders. That's pretty much the spot everyone has Mendoza in. No one expects the Raiders to pass.

"Should we just start mock drafts at No. 2 at this point?" Kiper wrote as part of a short blurb in that new mock draft. "The Raiders need a quarterback solution, and Mendoza has the tools to be a franchise guy. Lock it in."

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Kiper was clearly wrong on how the rest of the NFL was evaluating Sanders. But even the people not quite as high on Shedeur as Kiper were at least somewhat wrong.

It doesn't appear like that'll happen with Mendoza. So for this year, Kiper is going to align with the top QB in the industry rankings.

This doesn't necessarily mean anything for Mendoza's NFL prospects.

It's just fascinating to think back on Kiper's commitment to his Sanders take, and to look at how his QB1 thoughts are a lot more mainstream this year.

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