PORTLAND, Ore. — Fernando Mendoza held a prototype cleat in his hands at Adidas' North American headquarters, stripped of the three diagonal stripes the brand is known for. Not yet. The Heisman-winning quarterback and presumptive No. 1 overall draft pick had suggestions to make first.

This wasn't a typical product pitch. Adidas uses 3-D printing to build bespoke shoes for elite athletes. The innovation lab occupies an entire floor, complete with a basketball court, 40-yard dash track, batting cage, and testing spaces for athlete-cleat evaluation.

Mendoza pointed to the inside heel of his right cleat. "Could you put extra traction on the cleat here?" he asked, demonstrating his throwing motion. He explained how his back foot sits at an angle during his release, similar to a receiver cutting.

The innovation team pulled up a 3-D rendering of Mendoza's foot. One technician noted his midfoot advanced beyond average, creating ideal surface area for additional grip points. They discussed his toe box, his bunions, and protective plates. "This is awesome," Mendoza said. "This is the perfect solution."

"He's the perfect face for you," one Adidas employee said. "Innovation, analytical, scientific."

The quarterback who spent the NFL Combine emphasizing the importance of "fine details" had met his match.

Building a QB Cleat

This was Adidas' first-ever Rookie Pro Day, announcing the brand's 2026 signing class. Beyond Mendoza, the roster includes defensive linemen Arvell Reese and Rueben Bain Jr., safety Caleb Downs, receivers Carnell Tate, Jordyn Tyson, Denzel Boston, Makai Lemon, and KC Concepcion, and tight end Kenyon Sadiq.

After Mendoza left, the seven innovation lab technicians huddled. One asked: "Should we consider a silver-and-black color scheme?" Affirmative. The Las Vegas Raiders' presumptive first pick would be wearing silver and black.

Adidas' Wide Receiver Dominance

Adidas went through a similar process with Washington receiver Rome Odunze in 2024, the Bears' first-round pick. The company now dominates wideout signage, locking in the top five receiver prospects this year.

The Odunze collaboration produced the "Adizero One Horizon," engineered to improve separation through enhanced deceleration and acceleration. Adidas reported a 3% improvement in deceleration ability and a 2% improvement in acceleration. In a league defined by inches, those marginal gains matter.

Aaron Seabron, VP/GM of Adidas' U.S. Sports and Creation Center, acknowledged the broader potential: "I do think customization is something that has a potential future. The ads on your phone and my phone are different. I think customization is certainly prevalent in all of our lives, and I think eventually, does that make its way into the product? In time — probably, yeah."

But Adidas isn't abandoning receivers. Seabron emphasized the position's strategic importance: "We strive to be the fastest brand in football, and we do that by fusing speed and culture. If I can think of one position that is truly a speed and culture position, it's wide receiver, right? They're normally the ones that make the biggest plays, the biggest catches, and they're normally some of the biggest personalities on the field."

The company is also banking on retaining Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith, arguably college football's best receiver prospect in 2025 despite not being draft-eligible yet.

The Testing Gauntlet

At the Pro Day, most of Adidas' 2026 signings underwent biomechanical analysis. Their feet and gates were measured. They ran drills while wearing sensors tracked by 70 cameras. The 40-yard dash track features 20 "force plates" embedded in the floor—planks that measure force and angle of foot strikes with precision.

Denzel Boston, who caught 20 touchdown passes for Washington over two seasons, praised the thoroughness: "They put a lot of detail into [the cleats]. They discuss what goes into the making of the cleats, when it comes to all the different tests that they do. Not only that, but also the way they design cleats, whether it's to tell a story or it's a collaboration through another brand to tell their story. They're very detail-oriented in both those spaces."

Most athletes wanted extensive testing before committing to a shoe for their rookie NFL seasons. Color schemes could shift on April 23, draft day, but athletes raved about Adidas' overall presentation.

Arvell Reese, Ohio State's All-American linebacker, was blunt: "I haven't seen anything like that before. It was a surprise seeing all the tech. It's next level."