Fernando Mendoza and Ty Simpson are set to begin their NFL journeys after being selected in the 2026 NFL Draft as the No. 1 and the No. 13 pick, respectively.
Mendoza has signed a deal with the Raiders, and Simpson has gone to the Rams, with many analysts projecting the former to start right away or a few games down the season and the latter to wait at least one year behind Matthew Stafford.
Despite the difference, some analysts like Tom Pelissero have predicted a better future for Simpson compared to Mendoza. During a conversation with Dan Patrick on Friday, Pelissero said:
“I mean it hard because you would say the tape would tell you so far, it Fernando Mendoza, just in terms of the volume, how the arrow was pointing up on him last season. But this situation, you know, Fernando’s got a huge transition. Let’s start there, going into Klint Kubiak’s offense, which is a lot like Sean McVay’s offense. So, Fernando, he’s got to learn a ton. And you know the pressures. Kirk Cousins is there. He’s going to be the starter. He may be the starter for the whole season.”
“But you know the moment that Kirk throws an interception or they have a down game. You know where the questions are light. No one’s sitting there going, we’ve got to bench Matthew Stafford and put Ty Simpson in because the Rams start 0-2. That’s not going to happen. I think that environmentally, Ty Simpson is in the best place to succeed,” he added.
Analyst Calls Out the Rams for “Terrible” Ty Simpson Pick
During a recent conversation with Dan Patrick, ESPN analyst Mike Greenberg spoke about the Rams choosing Simpson as the No. 13 overall pick. He said he believes it was a terrible decision.
Greenberg added that the pick doesn’t make any sense, highlighting that they have Matthew Stafford is a year-to-year player, and that the franchise got someone who would contribute zero for them to win the Super Bowl next year.
“Figure out who your next quarterback is another time,” Greenberg said.
The analyst further said that the Rams should’ve gotten someone who would help them win this year.
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