The Las Vegas Raiders look ready to start a new era in franchise history. With new head coach Klint Kubiak at the helm, they’re firmly expected to take Indiana star QB Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 selection.
Mendoza looked head and shoulders above everybody else late in the season, leading the Hoosiers to an undefeated campaign and the first national championship in program history.
Nevertheless, if you were to ask former NFL QB Dan Orlovsky, Ty Simpson is actually a better prospect. On Monday’s edition of ESPN’s “Get Up,” Orlovsky argued that Simpson was asked to do more with less, and he believes he’s a more NFL-type quarterback than the Heisman winner:
“I think Ty Simpson is QB1,” Orlovsky argued. “Who needed to do more to carry their football team to play well? Ty Simpson, and it’s not close between those two quarterbacks. Who took more games over throughout the course of the season? Ty Simpson. It’s not even close.”
While Orlovksy believes Mendoza is a very solid prospect who will be successful in the pros, he thinks that whichever team gets Simpson in the middle of the first round will probably find better value with that selection:
“When it comes to moments of panic and big throws, real NFL throws, I think it’s clearly Ty Simpson,” Orlovsky added. “…I would much rather have Ty. And I like Fernando Mendoza. This is not to slight Mendoza. I would rather have Ty Simpson at the 15-to-20 (pick) range than Fernando Mendoza at one.”
The 2026 quarterback class is far from impressive, so perhaps the talent gap between one and the other isn’t as wide. That said, Simpson does come with some concerns of his own, as he doesn’t have much experience and may need more time to take the reins of an NFL offense than Mendoza.
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