Why the Ty Simpson Debate Is Fair, But the Fernando Mendoza Disrespect Isn’t

Ty Simpson has become one of the most interesting quarterbacks in the 2026 NFL Draft over the last few weeks, and at this point, that part is fair.

What’s getting lost is what usually follows this time of year. One quarterback starts climbing, people get tired of the obvious answer, and suddenly the guy who actually had the better season gets picked apart like he’s the one with something left to prove. That’s where this is drifting with Fernando Mendoza.

Ty Simpson has real first-round traits, but not a first-round résumé

Dan Orlovsky has been the loudest voice pushing Simpson into the QB1 conversation, and he’s not doing it just to stir things up.

There are real reasons evaluators are drawn to Simpson. He’s poised in the pocket, comfortable throwing in rhythm, and capable of making the kind of layered throws that show up on Sundays. He doesn’t play the position in a chaotic way. There’s structure to his game, and when it’s clean, it looks like something teams can work with.

That’s why the Brock Purdy comparison has come up. Simpson doesn’t win with overwhelming physical tools or some rare profile. He wins with timing, touch, anticipation, and enough control to keep an offense on schedule.

But that comparison only works to a point.

Purdy wasn’t just similar stylistically coming out. He also had a much fuller body of work, appearing in 48 games and starting 46 at Iowa State while throwing for more than 11,000 yards and 84 touchdowns. If anything, that résumé looks a lot closer to what Mendoza just put together than what Simpson is bringing into this draft.

So if the comp is Purdy, fine. Just don’t act like Purdy entered the league with this little starting experience.

And that’s the part people are trying a little too hard to shrug off with Simpson. He only made 15 career starts.

That’s not a small detail. Quarterback evaluation still comes back to reps, how a player responds once defenses adjust, and what happens when the game stops being clean. With Simpson, there are stretches that look like a first-round quarterback. There are also stretches where you’re still projecting what he’ll look like once the league forces him to adjust.

Teams will talk themselves into that projection anyway. They always do.

Quarterbacks get pushed into Round 1 every year because someone decides the flashes are enough and the rest can be developed later. Simpson fits that mold. It’s easy to see a team in the teens or early 20s convincing itself that the structure, anticipation, and decision-making are good enough to build on.

That part of this story is believable.

Fernando Mendoza is still the No. 1 pick, even if draft season is getting weird again

The bigger takeaway is what’s happening on the other side of this conversation.

Mendoza is still, with very little real doubt, the most likely No. 1 overall pick. He threw for 3,535 yards, 41 touchdowns, and six interceptions, won the Heisman Trophy, and led Indiana to a national championship.

That résumé hasn’t changed. What has changed is the tone around him.

This is the point in the draft cycle where things tend to drift. The consensus guy stays the same, but the conversation around him doesn’t. People start looking for something new to say, and the easiest way to do that is to start poking holes in the player everyone already agreed on.

That’s how you end up with a real debate turning into something louder than it needs to be.

Ryan Clark pushed back on the reaction to Orlovsky’s take and said the gap between Mendoza and Simpson isn’t as wide as people think. That’s fair. Mendoza isn’t entering this draft with the kind of generational label that makes any disagreement sound ridiculous.

But there’s still a difference between opening the conversation and acting like the answer has changed. It hasn’t.

Mendoza is still the more proven player, the more complete résumé, and the quarterback who has answered more questions over a full season. Simpson can be appealing for different reasons, and those reasons are strong enough that he’s likely to hear his name called in the first round.

Both things can be true at the same time.

Simpson’s rise is real, and it’s probably going to end with a team betting on his upside earlier than expected. Mendoza is still QB1.

The rest is just draft season doing what it always does and that’s be very loud about something that ultimately will not matter.