Ty Simpson quarterback University of Alabama
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PASADENA, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 01: Ty Simpson #15 of the Alabama Crimson Tide in action against the Indiana Hoosiers in the College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at Rose Bowl Stadium on January 01, 2026 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images)
Social media has been flooded with clips of ESPN analyst and former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky claiming that Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson is better than consensus #1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza, who is considered to be the presumptive first overall pick to the Las Vegas Raiders at next month’s NFL draft.
Orlovsky even claimed that after texting this hot take to 12-15 general managers and high level front-office executives, only two disagreed with him.
Well respected draft analyst and former ESPN employee, Todd McShay, echoed similar views on his podcast ‘The McShay Show’ on The Ringer network.
Former NFL defensive tackle and Hard Knocks star Breiden Fehoko weighed into the debate on March 25, and claimed that both McShay and Orlovsky were being disingenuous with their views, and accused them of not believing their own takes, i.e. lying, because they share the same representation as Simpson, the Creative Artists Agency (CAA).
Breiden Fehoko Calls out Todd McShay and Dan Orlovsky
“Please stay woke man. None of these guys believe what they’re saying.” Fehoko wrote on X, quote tweeting a video of McShay endorsing the skills of Simpson as being equivalent to that of Mendoza.
Fehoko also shared three separate screenshots below his caption that highlight that each are represented by the CAA.
Having previously ordained the Alabama alum as the best signal caller in this year’s upcoming draft, the former Detroit Lions quarterback detailed his reconnaissance about the supposed superiority of Ty Simpson as a quarterback prospect on Tuesday morning, during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show.
Ari Meirov
Dan Orlovsky says he texted 12–15 GMs/decision-makers that Alabama QB Ty Simpson is the best QB in the draft, and only 2 disagreed.
(🎥 @PatMcAfeeShow)
“I can tell you and I’m not going to tell you who but I’ve probably texted 12-15 general manager to decision making coaches in the NFL the very simple text of “Ty Simpson is qb1 in this class” or “the best quarterback in this class”, and two people got back to me with a disagreement.
Orlovsky then revealed that the other decision makers texted back a message of “some form of agree”.
Todd McShay Admires ‘Beautiful’ Play of Ty Simpson
McShay also iterated a similar viewpoint with regards to Simpson’s capabilities.
The Ringer
“My eyes tell me Ty Simpson’s every bit as good as—in some ways better and more NFL-ready than—[Fernando] Mendoza.” @McShay13 talks about whether there’s a big gap between Ty Simpson and Fernando Mendoza.
“If you’re a purist and you’re someone who’s just studied the quarterback position your whole life and you put on the tape for Ty Simpson; its how the game is supposed to be played. It’s pre-snap, it’s identifying, it’s control at the line of scrimmage…everything’s in rhythm, everything is on schedule. It’s beautiful.”
McShay then puts Simpson’s decline in play towards the end of the season down to faltering offensive line protection, which in conjunction with Alabama’s sub-par running game meant that the offense in general slowly went downhill.
Both have seemingly pretty strong convictions about Simpson. And whilst perhaps it may be inflated due to the shared representation, there are many other players who also share the same agency.
Ultimately, the draft and NFL evaluators – and then his eventual time in the pros will determine the validity of both analysts shared take on Simpson.