The 2026 NFL season is about to kick off, and Indiana will have plenty of familiar names scattered across rosters around the league. In all, 18 former Hoosiers are on official team lists, a group that includes nine rookies and 10 returning players after an undefeated season, a first national title and a Heisman Trophy.
The most watched name in the bunch is Fernando Mendoza, last season’s starting quarterback and the Heisman Trophy winner. He made his preseason debut for the Las Vegas Raiders against the Arizona Cardinals on Aug. 13, and the No. 1 overall draft pick connected on his first touchdown on a 6-yard pass to wide receiver Jack Bech. Mendoza finished the preseason completing 55.6% of his throws for 240 yards and one touchdown.
He will not get the Week 1 start for Las Vegas against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. Veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins, in his 15th season, will take that job instead. Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak told CBS Sports that he wants Mendoza to keep working before making his official debut.
“Ideally, you don’t want him to start from day one,” Kubiak said. “I think it does help the player if they can sit behind a mature adult and watch how they run the show.”
The Jets have two former Indiana standouts in the mix, starting with wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. Cooper wrapped his college career with 115 catches, 1,798 receiving yards and 24 total touchdowns in 42 games.
He dealt with a right leg injury against Ohio State in the 2025 Big 10 Championship game, then was cleared in late December 2025 and played in the Rose Bowl against the University of Alabama. He has been at full speed throughout the preseason and is currently listed as a backup on New York’s unofficial depth chart.
Cornerback D’Angelo Ponds, also a Jets draft pick in the second round at No. 50 overall, has been slowed by a leg injury of his own. He missed all of training camp and all three preseason games, though head coach Aaron Glenn has said Ponds is on track to play again. He will not start.
Baltimore used a fourth-round pick on wide receiver Elijah Sarratt, who played perimeter receiver at Indiana and totaled 31 receptions across 40 games. He also caught three passes for 28 yards in the 2025 National Championship game against the University of Miami.
In the Ravens’ preseason opener against the Philadelphia Eagles, Sarratt led the team with six receptions on seven targets for 66 yards. Even so, he is not projected to start, and analysts view him as a developmental prospect this season.
Micah McFadden is back for a fifth year with the New York Giants after graduating from Indiana in 2022 under Tom Allen. He was one of the program’s top linebackers and a team captain, earning All-American and Big 10 honors before heading to the NFL.
McFadden missed most of the 2025 season after a severe foot injury that required surgery in September, but he has recovered significantly and is now playing on a one-year contract extension. He sits behind Tremaine Edmunds as the top backup linebacker.
“I’m excited,” McFadden said in an interview to the New York Post on Aug. 14. “Feeling ready to go play.”
Minnesota’s Myles Price is set for his second season after a rookie year that already put him in the record book. In 2025, he piled up 1,479 kickoff return yards, the most in Vikings history. This season, he is listed as the starting punt returner and kickoff returner, and he is also a backup wide receiver behind Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison.
Indiana’s rookie class also includes Kaelon Black, a running back with the San Francisco 49ers; Riley Nowakowski, a TE/FB with the Pittsburgh Steelers; Aiden Fisher, a linebacker with the Houston Texans; Pat Coogan, an offensive lineman with the Tennessee Titans; and Kahlil Benson, an offensive lineman with the Kansas City Chiefs.
The group of returning players beyond McFadden, Cooper, Ponds, Mendoza and Price includes Ian Thomas, a tight end with the Las Vegas Raiders; Marcelino McCrary-Ball, a linebacker with the New York Jets; Kurtis Rourke, a quarterback with the San Francisco 49ers; CJ West, a defensive tackle with the San Francisco 49ers; Luke Haggard, an offensive lineman with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers; Dan Feeney, an offensive lineman with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers; and Ke’Shawn Williams, a wide receiver with the Cincinnati Bengals.
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Former Hoosier D'Angelo Ponds Is Closing In On His NFL Debut
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Ponds has now returned to practice ahead of Week 1, giving him a chance to be available for New York's season opener against the Titans. He is still projected as a backup cornerback on the Jets' depth chart, but even that role would mark an important first step after an offseason that kept him from building momentum the way rookie defenders usually try to do. [Read more 🡒]