Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza received the weirdest advice from one team during meetings at the NFL Combine.
Mendoza was asked about the most bizarre question he received during the informal interview process. The quarterback revealed it was more of a comment than a question, as one team suggested he should get arrested in order to knock himself down draft boards.
“It was, ‘Hey, maybe you should get arrested,'” Mendoza said. “I was a little confused, but then I was like, oh, the slide. So I could slide in the draft.”
The most bizarre question that Fernando Mendoza has been asked during his draft interviews
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"It was: 'Hey, maybe you should get arrested.' I was a little confused, but then it was like to slide."
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Mendoza clarified that it was from a team he had not had a formal interview with. That team almost certainly won’t get a chance to draft Mendoza, but would love the opportunity.
NFL Combine interviews have an infamous history of occasionally being very weird and invasive. Given the importance of the draft to teams, they want to probe a prospect’s entire history and see how he responds in certain situations. That can sometimes lead to questions that would be considered inappropriate at the best of times.
In this instance, Mendoza seemingly heard an off-handed comment rather than any real question. One cannot blame him for finding it awkward, though, especially considering his squeaky-clean reputation.
