Draft season is here. That magical time of year when quarterbacks rise, fall, and get compared to Hall of Famers before they’ve even paid NFL taxes. And right in the middle of the chaos is Dan Orlovsky, shifting his spotlight like a man changing TV channels with dramatic flair.
For a minute, it felt like Fernando Mendoza was the name on everybody’s lips. Scouts were whispering, analysts were nodding seriously, clip breakdowns were flying around social media like conspiracy theories. Mendoza had momentum.
But wait. Plot twist.
Now Orlovsky has turned his attention to Ty Simpson. Yes, Ty Simpson, after watching his tapes. And just like that, draft Twitter is in shambles.
"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
“I’m through eight games [of Mendoza game tape] now, and through eight games, you see good, but there’s a lot of underwhelming,” Orlovsky said on “First Take” on Thursday.
“There’s not a ton of big-time throws. There’s a lot of clean pockets. There’s a ton of RPOs and back-shoulder fades … There’s moments where you see … he’s spooked with his feet and becomes a runner unnecessarily.”
“I think through eight games, Ty Simpson’s tape at Alabama is significantly more impressive than Fernando Mendoza’s,” Orlovsky added.
For now, though, Dan Orlovsky has spoken. The tape is rolling, the debates are heating up, and somewhere, NFL general managers are nodding while pretending they weren’t already thinking the same thing.
Welcome to draft season where today’s favorite is tomorrow’s question mark, and the spotlight never stays still for long.
