NFL draft season is in full swing, which means there is a lot of different opinions regarding which prospects should go where. While the expectation is that Fernando Mendoza will go No. 1 overall to the , not everyone believes Mendoza is the top quarterback in the cla s. ESPN's Dan Orlovsky is one analyst who thinks Alabama's Ty Simpson should be considered a better prospect than Mendoza, which has led to some controversy. Fans who believe Mendoza is the clear-cut top quarterback available are now arguing that Orlovsky isn't being completely honest with his analysis. Here's a breakdown of Orlovsky's evaluation of Simpson and the surrounding controversy. MORE : Dan Orlovsky-Ty Simpson controversy, explained While most NFL analysts believe Fernando Mendoza is the best quarterback in the 2026 draft, Dan Orlovsky disagrees. The ESPN analyst believes that Ty Simpson is the best quarterback in this year's cla s, going against the grain from most other draft evaluations. Orlovsky has been so staunch in his defense of Simpson that it has confused many fans online, who now believe that Orlovsky's evaluation isn't honest. Instead, these fans believe that Orlovsky is defending Simpson because the analyst has the same agent as the Alabama prospect and a different agent than Mendoza. Dan Orlovsky - CAA Ty Simpson - CAA Fernando Mendoza - Excel Sports Managment ATLNiner (Life is pain football sucks) (@PapaStew80) Orlovsky went on the Pat McAfee Show and vehemently denied that CAA was forcing him to hype up Simpson. "The agents work for us, not the other way around," Orlovsky said. "They're employed by us, respectfully, that's how the busine s model is. CAA is a very big agency, they have a lot of people.. Calum Ritchie Jersey .I'm not nearly important enough to CAA financially for them to pay me to say something about a guy who might be the 20th pick in the draft." "People can think what they want There's no ulterior motive behind this" Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) MORE : What did Dan Orlovsky say about Ty Simpson? Dan Orlovsky has Ty Simpson as the best quarterback in the cla s of 2026 even though most evaluators have Mendoza in that spot. Orlovsky watched taped of both of them before coming to this conclusion. Orlovsky believes that Simpson had to carry the Alabama offense more than Mendoza had to with the Indiana offense, which is part of his evaluation. "I think when we look at the body of work and what was asked of these two quarterbacks, you have to start with the question, 'Who needed to do more to carry their football team to play well?' Ty Simpson, and it's not close between those two quarterbacks," he said." Who took more games over throughout the course of the season? Ty Simpson, and it's not even close." I think Ty Simpson is the best quarterback in this cla s. makes a strong claim ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft Get Up (@GetUpESPN) Orlovsky then went into depth on what Simpson does better than Mendoza, including being more stoic in pre sure situations and making more "NFL" throws. "What do you do in moments of panic with the football? Because that's really what separates good to great. I would tell you that Ty Simpson is more consistent in that regard. There's not a ton of moments of panic out of Fernando Mendoza, and then there's moments where he immediately drops his eyes and becomes a runner," he said. "What guy was asked to do more NFL throws?...Ty Simpson, and it's not even close in that regard." MORE: Who is Dan Orlovsky's agent? Orlovsky is represented by the , which also represents many college and NFL players and coaches. CAA has its hands in many different sports industries, so it's not a surprise that the company has one of the top NFL analysts as its client. Who is Ty Simpson's agent? Ty Simpson is also represented by CAA, as he signed with the agency just before the NFL Combine. CAA client list CAA has a large client list in the NFL, which includes many of the best players in the league. Here's a look at some of CAA biggest clients, : Josh Allen Dak Prescott Matthew Stafford Drake Maye Sam Darnold Bryce Young Bo Nix T.J. Watt CeeDee Lamb A.J. Brown Patrick Surtain II Saquon Barkley MORE: Ty Simpson vs. Fernando Mendoza stats Fernando Mendoza Ty Simpson Completion percentage 72% 64.5% Touchdowns 41 28 Interceptions 6 5 Pa sing yards 3,535 3,567 Yards per attempt 9.3 7.5 Pa ser rating 182.9 145.2 Simpson and Mendoza were two of the best quarterbacks in college last year, but Mendoza ended the season on a better note to win both the Heisman Trophy and the National Championship. Mendoza bested Simpson in touchdowns by 13 scores, and he had a pa ser rating that was better by over 35 points. Ty Simpson vs. Fernando Mendoza head-to-head Fernando Mendoza Ty Simpson Completions/Attempts 14/16 11/16 Completion percentage 87.5% 75% Touchdowns 3 0 Interceptions 0 0 Pa sing yards 192 67 Yards per attempt 15.8 4.2 Pa ser rating 250.2 110.2 Mendoza and Indiana dominated Simpson and Alabama in the Rose Bowl, as the Hoosiers beat the Crimson Tide 38-3. Mendoza was incredibly efficient in that game, throwing three touchdowns while producing just two incomplete pa ses, as the game was over by halftime. Simpson, meanwhile, struggled and clearly battled an injury with Indiana getting to the quarterback. In the second half, Alabama benched Simpson with the game out of hand, limiting the quarterback to just 16 pa ses in the game. Samuel Girard Jersey