Moore’s Best Move and Mendoza’s Concern

Here is the second edition of Essentially CFB’s Draft special! I’m Tim Wood, Editorial Chief at EssentiallySports, and the co-host of the ES DraftCast with Tony Pauline.

Draft Season is heating up, and it’s been a busy week. Fernando Mendoza cemented his status as the top QB prospect, but still has his detractors, which Tony and I debunk in our second episode below. Beyond Mendoza, there is so much uncertainty at the QB spot. Dante Moore and Ty Simpson are struggling with Draft decisions, and Trinidad Chambliss is suing the NCAA to stay for one more year. So will there even be a second franchise-altering QB available?

We have had more draft commits as well, and you track all of those moves on Tony’s Draft Big Board - as well as create a watchlist of your own! Plus, Luke Hubbard breaks down the flaws Mendoza must improve and makes an impassioned plea for Moore to stay at Oregon, even with Dylan Raiola there in today’s headlines.

As always, we want to hear from you! Hit us in the comments, engage with us on Reddit, and let us know what you want to hear about and read about when it comes to this year’s Draft!

Mendoza is enjoying a standout season and has emerged as a projected top prospect in the upcoming draft class. Still, questions linger about whether his success will translate to the NFL. That uncertainty leads to the central question we’re trying to answer. Does Fernando Mendoza deserve to be the first overall pick?

Moore had all that momentum going into the semifinals. But Curt Cignetti and the Hoosiers have tanked his draft stock. Take a leaf from Carson Beck’s book and go back for another year under Lanning.

Our draft big board is a big hit. As always, you’ll see Tony’s rankings and scouting reports for each prospect. And you can build a watchlist by clicking on the star at the far right of each prospect ranking.

USC has produced the most all-time No. 1 picks with six, including Heisman Trophy champs such as O.J. Simpson, Carson Palmer and Caleb Williams.

You can email me questions directly at [email protected].