It didn’t seem like there’d be any controversy surrounding the Las Vegas Raiders‘ No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Ever since the end of the season, it has been a foregone conclusion that the team would select Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza.
However, there’s been a push as of late to stir up some quarterback controversy. Some in the media, including ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky and Mike Tannenbaum, have been pushing the idea that Alabama’s Ty Simpson could be the better quarterback prospect than Mendoza.
It’s not clear where the Raiders might stand. They’ve seemingly been all-in on Mendoza all offseason, but it’s never a good idea to have tunnel vision.
On the surface, Mendoza is a far better prospect. He’s started more games, is bigger and dominated Simpson in their head-to-head matchup in the College Football Playoff.
Simpson doesn’t boast elite athletic traits or have a big arm, so it’s difficult to understand why there’s been a recent change of heart on him. The Raiders need to at least consider their options. Running back and 2025 first-round pick Ashton Jeanty was recently asked to weigh in on the debate between Mendoza and Simpson, but he’s just happy with whoever the Raiders select.
“Whoever we draft at quarterback is better,” Jeanty said on a livestream.
Difficult to Know Where Raiders Are At
The Raiders have the No. 1 pick, so they can do whatever they want. If they end up liking Simpson more, they can draft him. They could also still trade down if they decide they don’t like either quarterback.
The Raiders haven’t been running a tight ship this offseason, so there hasn’t been a lot of intel on how they plan to attack the draft. Everything has indicated that the plan is to draft Mendoza.
Aidan O’Connell is the only quarterback on the roster, and the team hasn’t been aggressive in trying to add a veteran. They’re almost certainly going to draft a quarterback, and that quarterback will likely be Mendoza.
Mendoza’s Intelligence Is His Biggest Strength
Perhaps the biggest reason why some aren’t ready to commit to Mendoza being the best quarterback in the draft is that his biggest strength is his football IQ. That’s hard to measure with statistics or just watching tape, so that could be why pundits like Orlovsky aren’t fully sold on him.
He’s closer to the Peyton Manning archetype than the Patrick Mahomes archetype. However, intelligence is incredibly important when playing quarterback.
One Big Ten defensive assistant who played against Mendoza was blown away by how smart a player he was.
“He never makes mistakes,” the coach told The Athletic’s Ted Nguyen. “He’s gotta be extremely intelligent because he’s always making the right decision. We play one-high; he goes immediately to throw back-shoulder. Two-high shell with the safeties wide, he gets into a cover 2 check to a run play and gets 5 yards. We send pressure here, he changes the play to something else. The efficiency was insane.
“He’s a top pick in the draft. I don’t know who would be better.”
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