Top Jets executives watch potential No. 1 QB pick Fernando Mendoza

Happy Valley was filled with green and white on Saturday.

The Jets had a “heavy contingent” — that included general manager Darren Mougey and senior football advisor Rick Spielman — at the Penn State-Indiana game on Saturday to watch Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza take on the Nittany Lions, ESPN reported.

In a year that has not seen a true No. 1 quarterback as the obvious top pick in the 2026 draft, Mendoza is widely viewed — right now, at least — as one of the options to go first.

Heading into Saturday, Mendoza led the Big Ten with 25 touchdown passes to accompany his 2,124 passing yards as No. 2-ranked Indiana began the year a perfect 9-0. This comes after he threw for 3,004 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2024.

ESPN’s Matt Miller explained to The Post’s Steve Serby this week about what has made Mendoza so successful.

“He’s really good at layering passes, he shows touch accuracy,” Miller said. He’s got like a compact, snappy release. He’s a little bit more Jared Goff in terms of his arm talent. And I think his mechanics are so clean that there’s not a lot of wasted motion… He’s not a runner.”

In an ESPN poll of over two dozen NFL scouts and execs, Mendoza received 13 votes as the quarterback who will be chosen first in next year’s draft. Oregon’s Dante Moore and Alabama’s Ty Simpson were the only other quarterbacks who received multiple votes.

The 1-7 Jets, right now, are still in play for the No. 1 pick. With Justin Fields and Tyrod Taylor as rostered quarterbacks, New York does look like it could take — or at least use — a young signal-caller under center. If the season were to end Saturday, the Jets would have the No. 3 pick, with the Titans going first and the Saints picking second.

The Titans, with 2025 No. 1 pick Cam Ward, are not in the market for another quarterback, while the Saints, who have recently turned the reins over to second-round pick Tyler Shough, could be in play for a quarterback depending on how he develops.