Fernando Mendoza Hyped Over Drake Maye, Cam Ward by NFL Scout & More on Ty Simpson, Allar, Nussmeier

When it comes to the quarterback position at this year's NFL draft, one NFL scout told The Athletic's Bruce Feldman that "After (Fernando) Mendoza, it drops off a cliff."

Not exactly a rousing appraisal of players like Ty Simpson, Garrett Nussmeier and Drew Allar, in other words. But Mendoza would rank favorably against top quarterback prospects from drafts prior as well.

"The stuff that people in prior years look back and say (about quarterbacks they missed on): 'I'm pissed that I didn't notice that he had that.' Fernando has that," an NFL personnel director told Feldman. "It's his efficiency in the red zone; you can tell that the plays that he makes, he has practiced them. Over his whole career, he has gotten better. He has those intangibles that people say are the reasons that people screw up in the draft. I think he has the answers to the test. I loved Cam Ward, but Fernando's a better prospect than him. There are some physical traits in terms of arm strength and ability to run, where Drake Maye may have a little more, but I feel much better about Fernando than I did about Drake—and I like Drake. Fernando shows that he knows how to handle adversity. You see it all over the tape: Bouncing back from getting hit against Miami in the title game. Throwing picks, coming back against Oregon and Penn State."

Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, meanwhile, polled scouts and coaches about where Mendoza would rank between the top prospects from 2024-26 at the position. He ranked anywhere from third to seventh, "unanimously behind Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels and, for many, also behind some combination of Maye, Bo Nix, Ward and Jaxson Dart."

As for the rest of the quarterback prospects behind Mendoza at this year's draft, a personnel director told Feldman that Simpson's "lack of experience and real starter traits is a concern," though it isn't a universal belief.

"I wouldn't say that it's a huge gap between Mendoza and Simpson," an AFC quarterbacks coach told Pelissero, though that wasn't a common take. "He throws it really well. He's got really good functional athleticism for the quarterback position. He moves really well in the pocket. I really like his play style, his decisiveness—he plays with urgency, but he doesn't play with panic. I think he's a good decision-maker."

Pelissero noted that the most common NFL comparison for Simpson was Brock Purdy, with mixed opinions on whether he should be a first-round pick.

One NFL offensive assistant told Feldman he could see Nussmeier "being better than Spencer Rattler, that type of guy," while a number of executives told Pelissero they believe he's better than what he showed in the 2025 season, when an oblique issues clearly impacted him.

When it comes to Allar, consistency and the ability to produce in the clutch are the biggest question marks, because the tools are otherwise there.

"Just in terms of traits, the ability to throw the ball, size, he's really smart too. But it doesn't always click quite as fast on the field, and then there were some accuracy inconsistencies that need to improve," an AFC quarterbacks coach told Pelissero. "I wouldn't say a ton was asked of him in terms of what was on his plate in the passing game in college. So, you're kind of projecting what he will look like in an NFL offense. There's things that are exciting and give you optimism about what he's going to look like on an NFL field and the way he's going to be able to throw the ball. But I would say that there was enough inconsistencies that gave you a little bit of hesitation."