Former Cal Football Players and the 2026 NFL Draft
Transfer portal taketh, and then the NFL Draft taketh again
Once a Bear, in most cases always a Bear. Let’s see where the players who once donned the regal blue and gold have gone to.
Round 1, Pick 1, Las Vegas Raiders: QB F. Mendoza
Note: this section was not written by Piotr.
A lot has been said about Fernando Mendoza in his storybook last year in college. You can read more about it here.
It’ll be a tough position for him to come in and succeed early on with the Raiders, who are still in rebuilding mode, and it’s likely Kirk Cousins was brought in to potentially shoulder the load. He will have a Cal Bear with him in Hezekiah Masses, although the two didn’t overlap as Masses transferred in.
Still, it’s pretty remarkable for a former Cal quarterback alumnus to produce the number one pick in the NFL a decade apart. Professional excellence is built in the University of California.
Round 4, Pick 126, Buffalo Bills: LB Kaleb Elarms-Orr
The former Cal inside linebacker transferred to TCU in 2023, where he started for the Horned Frogs for two seasons, earning first-team All-Big 12 honors and drawing a favorable third-fourth round draft grade with Dane Buegler, and a rating as the ninth-best LB in the 2026 draft.
He looks to have the inside track to get meaningful snaps, behind starters Dorian Williams and Terrel Bernard, as a highly drafted prospect for a Bills team that is trying to build a new defense under 1st year DC Jim Leonhard.
Round 7, Pick 221, Cincinnati Bengals: TE Jack Endries
The former Cal TE moved to Texas in search of a bright spotlight and a more stacked offense to showcase his abilities before entering the draft. Sadly, due to some inconsistencies from the QB position and thus the passing game being inconsistent Jack slid down the boards to be picked at the tail end of the draft.
There is a plethora of TEs ready and willing to catch passes from Joe Burrow headlined by Drew Sample and Mike Gesicki. Yet, I have a feeling that there is space especially as a big slot for Jack to make an impact on the offense as a F-TE or a big power slot receiver over the middle.
He will have to work on his blocking if he wants to stay on the roster.
UDFAs, or where players write their own story
3-time Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs: RB Jaydn Ott
Ott, who ignominiously departed from Cal in the 2025 Spring Portal only to struggle to make any impact on the Oklahoma Sooners offense with injury, was signed by the Chiefs as one of the 3 RBs in UDFA.
The Chiefs also drafted Emmett Smith in the 5th round to add to a depleted RB room that has struggled to find production since the first Kareem Hunt stint with the Chiefs. There is already a definitive RB1 in Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III, who joined the Chiefs as a free agent.
Otherwise, there is a competition for RB2 and RB3 for anyone wishing to make the 53-man roster, and RB4/5 for the practice squad. Ott will have to prove that the last 2 years were a fluke and that he can be the same player that inspired “Ott To Go” if he wishes to make his NFL career last longer than an offseason.
He has made efforts to mend his relationship with Cal, even reaching out to show up at the Cal Pro Day where he improved on some of his drills.
Green Bay Packers: WR J.Michael Sturdivant
After his breakout year at Cal as a redshirt freshman, Sturdivant was unable to find his footing either at UCLA or at Florida, posting statistically worse seasons than his sole year at Cal.
He joins the Packer’s WR room that has mostly established starters on the two deep. There’s a chance he can make the roster or practice squad, but it depends on how well he adapts to the very complicated and demanding LaFluer offense.
Continuing praise for Nando, as he has already donated $500k to MS research. Other than that, this thread shows the Cal program under JW did not have or develop NFL-level talent other than the 2024 DB class... I've read way too many UDFA labels for GBs and former GBs. Let's hope this changes.