Fernando Mendoza can make the Las Vegas Raiders great again without the support of Dan Orlovsky.But acting like Orlovsky’s pre-draft favoritism of Ty Simpson is the biggest story in the NFL is a new low for football’s silly season.Fernando Mendoza already has a big critic on TVgettyMendoza is already No. 2 on this critic’s listForget all the billions of dollars freely given away during free agency and wondering for the 870th time if Travis Kelce is finally going to retire.That stuff pales when compared to Mendoza vs Simpson in the Great American Debate of 2026, which has even roped in Pat McAfee and produced accusations of internal bias.“I promise you people are going to be surprised about how the ball pops off of his (Simpson’s) hands,” Orlovsky said on ESPN.“He will rip the football.”Orlovsky has somehow been allowed to become a modern disruptor, despite the fact that he barely played in the NFL and spent the majority of his pro time as a career backup.In the good old days, Orlovsky was best known for cluelessly running out of the endzone as a bad Detroit Lions QB — and there’s even an official NFL video to prove it.‘Dan Orlovsky Runs Out of the Back of the Endzone’ has 776,000 views and 1,361 comments on YouTube, and most of the reaction to what the NFL describes as being ‘one of the worst plays in NFL history’ is unkind toward the world’s biggest Simpson stan.Orlovsky once ran out of end zone “Who here after he said Ty better than Fernando,’ one fan commented. “The announcer saying ‘poor guy’ is an absolutely incredible moment,” a second fan wrote. “Who’s watching this while Dan is in the booth talking about how to play the quarterback position?” a third fan posted.Dan Orlovsky has a clear favorite between Mendoza and Ty Simpson in the NFL DraftgettySimpson believes he learned how to be a franchise QB at AlabamaGettyOf course, Orlovsky is entitled to his Mendoza vs Simpson opinion like everyone else in the sports world.But Orlovsky’s contrarian Mendoza take won’t affect the expected No. 1 overall pick — unless Mendoza isn’t up to the task of becoming a legit franchise QB. “There’s a lot of underwhelming,” previously said Orlovsky, while reviewing Mendoza’s game tape from Indiana’s perfect 16-0 season.“You’re looking and saying, ‘First pick? First pick?’ I think through eight games, Ty Simpson’s tape from Alabama … is significantly more impressive.”Mendoza can answer on the field The best response for Mendoza is to turn Tom Brady‘s Raiders from poorly run losers into the new kings of the AFC West.No one — not Mendoza, not Simpson and definitely not Orlovsky — knows in March which soon-to-be-rookie QB will be better in Week 1, the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs, and five years into their pro careers.NFL's Greatest......Ranking the top 10......Quarterbacks of all-time – Can anyone better Tom Brady?Wide receivers of all-time – Does Randy Moss or Jerry Rice come out on top?Running backs of all-time – Stacking Jim Brown, Barry Sanders, Walter Payton, Emmitt Smith and moreTight ends of all-time – How does Travis Kelce compare?Some experts doubted the ‘erratic’ Drake Maye before the 2024 draft.Two seasons later, the No. 3 overall pick revived the New England Patriots and reached the Super Bowl. But Orlovsky has convinced himself that he’s already seen the future for the former Indiana and Alabama QBs, and he’s all-in on the 2026 Simpson campaign.“It’s a trait vs tape decision,” Orlovsky said. “I believe that Ty Simpson’s tape is better. He doesn’t have the traits that Fernando Mendoza does and you are going to have to, as an organization, make the determination on him not having those physical traits or starts, is that a yes or no for you? I can understand if you walk away saying ‘no.’ I don’t subscribe to that.”Long list of QB misses in NFL DraftJohnny Manziel, Anthony Richardson, Trey Lance and Zach Wilson are recent proof of how wrong the experts so often are. J.J. McCarthy and Michael Penix Jr. could soon be handed the dreaded ‘bust’ label that JaMarcus Russell will forever own.Sam Darnold leading the team-first Seattle Seahawks to a Super Bowl triumph was a powerful reminder of how misguided the loudest NFL Draft voices can be — and that it takes years to properly evaluate a pick.Orlovsky has it all figured out one month before the 2026 draft.It’s up to Mendoza to prove his biggest hater wrong and be a better QB than Simpson in real life. Stay up to date with the latest from the NFL across all platforms – follow our dedicated talkSPORT USA Facebook page and subscribe to our talkSPORT USA YouTube channel for all the news, exclusives, interviews and more.