Friday night’s Peach Bowl featured a marquee matchup for New York Jets fans: Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza versus Oregon quarterback Dante Moore.

Mendoza and Moore are widely considered the two best quarterback prospects in the 2026 NFL draft—if both declare, that is. Whether that will happen is uncertain following Friday’s outcome.

Top-ranked Indiana ran away with the College Football Playoff victory, routing the fifth-seeded Ducks by a score of 56-22. Mendoza was stellar, tossing five touchdowns to no interceptions, while it was a rough night for Moore, who threw a pick-six on the game’s first play and lost two fumbles.

After watching Moore’s struggles on the national stage, many draft analysts are urging the 20-year-old redshirt sophomore to return to Oregon. Moore addressed his hotly anticipated decision while speaking to the media after the loss.

“I’m gonna soak this moment up, that’s most importantly. Just giving hugs and thank-yous to my teammates,” Moore said. “But at the end of the day, I don’t know my decision yet. I’m going to talk to Coach [Dan] Lanning, talk to my family and everybody. But at the end of the day, I don’t think about that right now. Just thinking of my teammates and giving love to them.

So far, the only quarterback with a first-round projection to declare for the draft is Alabama’s Ty Simpson (whose intermediate passing skills make him an intriguing fit in the Jets’ scheme). Mendoza has yet to declare, although he is widely expected to do so, as he is trending toward becoming a shoo-in for the first overall pick.

With the quarterback-needy Jets slated to pick second overall in the 2026 NFL draft, they could use as many appealing quarterback prospects in the class as possible. The more options, the better. If Moore decides to stay in school, the Jets’ list of options will be a bit slimmer. That could hurt, as the Las Vegas Raiders are widely expected to select Mendoza first overall.

It’s easy for Jets fans to shout “woe-is-me” about potentially missing out on a hyped quarterback prospect by one draft slot yet again, a scenario that played out just five years ago. However, as Jets X-Factor’s Robby Sabo has broken down, Mendoza may not be the slam-dunk No. 1 prospect that many people are billing him as.

Indiana’s brilliant offensive scheme, orchestrated by head coach Curt Cignetti, makes life easy on the quarterback. NFL teams will have to figure out how much of Mendoza’s success at Indiana is transferable to the NFL.

That’s not to say that Mendoza is not a fantastic prospect; he is. The Heisman Trophy winner’s game is a beautiful fit for the trends of the modern NFL. Still, Jets fans shouldn’t convince themselves that Mendoza’s future stardom is a guarantee, or that the Jets would be down-and-out by failing to land him.

One slot after the Panthers selected Bryce Young, the Texans landed C.J. Stroud with the second pick in the 2023 draft, and the result was three consecutive playoff appearances; Young has yet to lead Carolina to a winning season. One year later, the Commanders selected Jayden Daniels with the second pick, and Daniels instantly led Washington to an NFC championship appearance after winning four games the year prior.

Even as the quarterback landscape seemingly shifts in favor of the Raiders, all hope is not lost for the Jets. Armed with a plethora of assets, they can find a path to success if they have the right leaders in place to scout and develop the quarterback position.

Do they have those leaders in place, though? That remains to be seen.

How the Jets handle the quarterback position this offseason is what will ultimately determine whether head coach Aaron Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey are deemed worthy of leading the franchise for the long haul. Moore’s impending decision is just the latest storyline in what will be a complex decision-making process for New York.