Colin Cowherd compares Fernando Mendoza to Peyton Manning after Indiana Pro Day
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Consider Colin Cowherd a big fan of Fernando Mendoza as the 2026 NFL Draft approaches.
Cowherd spoke at length about Mendoza on his show Thursday, comparing him to former Tennessee great and NFL Hall-of-Famer Peyton Manning. Cowherd praised Mendoza for the leadership that was on display during his Indiana Pro Day this week.
“He literally announced the routes his receivers would be running because he wanted to make sure that all his receivers were showing to the NFL scouts that they know how to run the route tree,” Cowherd said. “He literally told everybody ‘this is what we’re going to do on this play’ because he was so self-aware and wanted to ensure that he didn’t get all of the love. That people there saw how great his wide receivers were.
“Folks, you’re looking at Peyton Manning. Peyton Manning was big, smart, self-aware, and understood the NFL game. Leadership is not cool. It’s not cool. Leadership is hard.”
Here’s a clip of Cowherd’s full comments:
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Mendoza is the favorite to be picked No. 1 overall in this year’s draft by the Las Vegas Raiders. Manning, of course, was the No. 1 overall pick by the Indianapolis Colts back in 1998. He went on to win 5 NFL MVP awards and was a 2-time Super Bowl champion.
Mendoza will enter the NFL as a highly-decorated college player, but it remains to be seen whether or not his game will translate to the NFL level.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
