The history of the Heisman Trophy is littered with great players. Those players often go on to become exceptional professional football players.
But in recent years, the Heisman Trophy has become a more quarterback-focused award. At the same time, moribund NFL teams have become increasingly desperate for franchise quarterbacks to build around.
The result is that Heisman Trophy winners have become common targets for the No. 1 overall pick.
While the Heisman winner may seem like an obvious draft candidate, it wasn’t that long ago that Heisman winners would semi-regularly fall into later draft rounds.
Those days appear gone, at least for now. A Heisman Trophy winner has been drafted No. 1 overall eight times since 2010.
Prior to that, there were seven Heisman winners drafted No. 1 overall from 1970 to 2009.
Who Was the Last Heisman Trophy Winner Not Taken In the First Round of the NFL Draft?
It’s been 10 years since a Heisman Trophy winner didn’t go on to become a first-round pick in the NFL Draft.
In 2015, Alabama running back Derrick Henry won the Heisman Trophy. He was drafted 45th overall – in the middle of the second round – during the following spring’s 2016 NFL Draft.
Who Was the Last Heisman Quarterback Not Taken In the First Round of the NFL Draft?
Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith won the Heisman Trophy in 2006. He was subsequently drafted 174th overall, in the fifth round, by Baltimore.
NFL Draft Grade for Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza
All this may or may not be relevant for Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who won the Heisman Trophy in 2025.
Some college football analysts, including myself, viewed this as a weaker year for Heisman competition.
So, an unanswerable question: How much draft distortion was created when Fernando Mendoza won the Heisman as quarterback of Curt Cignetti’s undefeated Indiana team?
We may never know. PFF currently grades Mendoza as the No. 4 overall prospect, but the top three teams in the draft – Raiders, Jets, Cardinals – are all in the market for a long-term solution at quarterback.
Mendoza thus qualifies as a classic case of modern quarterback inflation.
Is he more talented than a guy like Caleb Downs or Rueben Bain? Absolutely not. But could he be drafted higher than them?
You bet.
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