Dan Orlovsky drops Fernando Mendoza-Ty Simpson NFL Draft truth bomb

The NFL Draft is just about two months away, with the Las Vegas Raiders holding the number one overall pick. This draft class isn’t necessarily viewed as being a deep one in terms of quarterbacks, but the Raiders are widely expected to take quarterback Fernando Mendoza out of Indiana after his Heisman Trophy-winning season in 2025.

Another quarterback who has thrown his hat into the draft ring is Alabama’s Ty Simpson, who at one point was viewed as a contender for the Heisman Trophy in his own right before tapering off down the stretch of the 2025 season.

Recently, ESPN NFL insider and former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky dropped a hot take on ESPN’s First Take, comparing the two prospects.

“Ty Simpson’s tape from Alabama, through the first eight games of the season, is significantly more impressive than Fernando Mendoza’s,” said Orlovsky, per Awful Announcing on X, formerly Twitter.

While it may be hard to remember now, it’s actually a valid statement from Orlovsky, as Simpson got off to a red-hot start to the season, putting together some insane numbers from an accuracy standpoint and leading Alabama up the national ranks after their season-opening dud against Florida State.

However, Simpson’s play fell off sharply down the stretch of the season, culminating in a dismal performance against Georgia in the SEC Championship Game that had many fans calling for him to be benched.

Meanwhile, Mendoza only seemed to improve as the season wore on, turning in some epic performances during Indiana’s playoff run and establishing himself as the clear-cut number one player in his draft class in the process.

Still, it’s not off the table that Simpson could be able to recapture the form he displayed in the first half of the 2025 season, routinely putting up video game numbers against SEC defenses full of future NFL talent.

In any case, the NFL Draft is slated to take place in late April from Pittsburgh.

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