Fernando Mendoza might be the consensus No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, but Dan Orlovsky won’t discount Ty Simpson just yet.
Earlier this week, Orlovsky posted, “Studying the first 5 games of Mendoza’s tape. It’s not what I expected so far.” By Thursday morning, Orlovsky had upped that total to studying eight games of Mendoza tape. And Orlovsky joined ESPN’s First Take to clarify what he meant by saying “it’s not what I expected,” admitting he’s not all that impressed with Mendoza, who everyone assumes Tom Brady and the Las Vegas Raiders are destined to take with the No. 1 pick in April’s NFL Draft.
“Ty Simpson’s tape from Alabama, through the first eight games of the season, is significantly more impressive than Fernando Mendoza’s” – Dan Orlovsky pic.twitter.com/78O9rTt14t
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 26, 2026
“Through eight games, you see good. But there’s a lot of underwhelming,” Orlovsky told a stunned Stephen A. Smith. “I understand his season finished strong, but there’s not a ton of big-time throws…You’re looking at a guy and saying first pick? I think through eight games, Ty Simpson’s tape from Alabama, through the first eight games of the season, is significantly more impressive than Fernando Mendoza’s.”
Pressed on whether he believes Mendoza is still the clear-cut No. 1 pick in the upcoming NFL Draft as most analysts have acknowledged, Orlovsky would not commit, saying, “I’m not there,” while reiterating he hasn’t evaluated the second half of Mendoza’s season yet. He also isn’t factoring Mendoza going through an adjustment period in learning a new offense through those first eight games.
Credit Orlovsky for being clear about the fact he has only watched eight games of Mendoza’s season with Indiana, but also, it seems silly to be discussing a quarterback’s draft stock before evaluating the biggest games of his college career. But more interesting than Orlovsky tempering some of the hype around Mendoza, might be the fact that he was simultaneously talking up Ty Simpson from Alabama.
It’s a hot take that should excite Colin Cowherd. Earlier this year, Cowherd advised the Pittsburgh Steelers to trade six draft picks to jump up and select Simpson in the first round. Here we have Orlovsky implying Simpson might be a better NFL prospect than Mendoza, albeit through just eight games of tape.
But this is a masterclass in going against the grain. Orlovsky might be the only prominent media member willing to claim Ty Simpson is more impressive than Fernando Mendoza. And that’s because Orlovsky might be the only media member crafty enough to build this take around the fact that he hasn’t considered Mendoza’s biggest and best games yet.