Dan Orlovsky said Ty Simpson plays like Brock Purdy and also has a little Caleb Williams and Baker Mayfield in his style. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

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When it comes to talent evaluation, it’s hard to find a better one on television than Dan Orlovsky.

Orlovsky has made an even bigger name for himself in his post-playing career as one of ESPN’s top analysts for the NFL. The 42-year-old had a long career as a journeyman quarterback, spending 12 seasons in the NFL after a prolific career as the starting QB for the UConn Huskies.

However, he’s found his calling as one of the go-to analysts on NFL Live and throughout ESPN’s programming of NFL coverage.

So when Orlovsky says something when it comes to a certain player, you take notice. Orlovsky is high on former Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson, who is gaining steam entering the 2026 NFL Draft as the second-highest rated quarterback behind Fernando Mendoza.

Mendoza is regarded as the top overall pick in the draft, with Simpson expected to go much later in likely the second round. Orlovsky said Simpson has a relatively high ceiling and compares him to San Francisc0 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy. Purdy finished as a top five MVP candidate a couple of years ago and has been one of the top winning quarterbacks in the league in recent seasons.

He also mentioned Simpson having traits of fellow quarterbacks such as Caleb Williams and Baker Mayfield.

“The three comps that I’ve kind of gone with, one is Brock Purdy,” said Orlovsky in a one-on-one interview. “I think he’s just got really nice ‘I’m going to throw you open’ ability. There’s also that aggression, Brock’s a very aggressive quarterback. I would tell you the flaw of Ty a little bit – and I’m not putting them in these categories – I know people run with stuff, I remember when Caleb (Williams) came out, it was like, 'Caleb, you don’t have to run around and make a play all the time.’ Ty has a little bit of that, not the high end talent that Caleb has.

“So Brock Purdy, and Brock’s got that in his game,” Orlovsky continued. “Baker Mayfield is just outstanding driving the football down the field and Ty Simpson has that. And I probably tell you a more natural Jimmy Garoppolo as a passer, just more natural. So three guys that have been good players in the league.”

The 23-year-old Simpson didn’t dominate with eye-popping statistics, but he was efficient. He threw 28 touchdowns against just five interceptions while leading the Crimson Tide to a College Football Playoff appearance in his lone season as a starter.

He doesn’t possess much mobility and he does lack the starting experience of the other top quarterbacks in this draft such as Mendoza, Carson Beck and Drew Allar. Furthermore, he doesn’t possess great size at 6-foot-1. But Orlovsky believes Simpson could be a great fit for a number of teams. He mentioned the Miami Dolphins – who are rebuilding with Malik Willis as the starting quarterback – the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Jets as potential ideal landing spots.

“I’ve said that the Dolphins, but they just signed Malik, and I’m a Malik guy, but that makes sense,” said Orlovksy. “I would sit there and tell you the Steelers for sure. And then the Jets, I love Aaron Glenn – a massive fan of Aaron Glenn as a human – and hope for him the best, they gotta win. They got to win some games, man. I understand they have three first round picks next year, but he may not be the person making those picks if you don’t get to six or seven wins this year. So whether you think the guy (Simpson) is a superstar or not, you gotta win some games. We’ll see, I think it'll be an interesting first round or two with him.”

Orlovsky also mentioned the Los Angeles Rams as a potential landing spot if they want to prepare for life after Matthew Stafford. However, drafting Simpson doesn’t help with their win-now mode mentality with Stafford returning at the age of 38 after winning an MVP.

“Rams, that’s the fit,” said Orlovsky. “But is there are a player that’s more suited right now for the Rams to make their Super Bowl run? That would be the one. I would tell you the Cardinals, but at No. 3 that is probably too rich for me.”

Dan Orlovsky Details NFL IQ Platform And How It Can Help Analyzing Prospects Leading Into 2026 NFL Draft

Leading into the draft, Orlovsky has hundreds of prospects he’ll watch tape of. What is helping him with his evaluation process is NFL IQ, which is an analytics based platform that helps fans understand what their team needs heading into the 2026 NFL Draft.

NFL IQ is an interactive hub created by the NFL and Amazon Web Services to help fans get easy insights leading into the draft.

“There’s so much information that you can gather with teams where they were when their season ended three months ago, and those teams are very different now than when those seasons end,” said Orlovsky. "NFL IQ, you can summarize where those teams were, where they are, and kind of what the projection of what they’re going to need. If you take this player, what’s the next step, and all that. I think it does a really good job of just informing us.

“My job obviously there’s 32 teams, so there’s a lot to take in,” Orlovsky continued. “It’s ever changing, but I think the starting point is it does a great job of informing me, and fans of where are those teams in a roster construction situation now and where are those teams heading dependent upon need, want, player here, all that. It’s like the Cheesecake Factory of NFL information. It's a never ending menu.”

The NFL IQ platform is the same intelligence environment that NFL’s Next Gen Stats team uses, which general managers and analysts like Orlovsky uses.

There’s also an AI assistant component that was recently introduced that allows users to talk to the dashboard to get instant feedback.

“If you’re a fan of the Las Vegas Raiders, who are the number one pick, and there’s all this hope because you have the number one pick and a new coach who just won the Super Bowl, and (Tom) Brady, and you’re going to get the quarterback,” said Orlovsky. “But then it’s also, ‘Okay. where are we as a team? What else should we be looking for? Who else’s name should I be paying attention to in the first round or the second round or the third round?’

“Whether you’re super in the weeds with football, or you’re a person that’s maybe only a college fan and you want to see where the NFL stands,” Orlovsky continued. "Or maybe you’re an NFL fan and you don’t know a ton about the college players because you only watch the NFL, or you’re massive into the fantasy world, or you just want to kind of see how roster construction or philosophically how it changes. There is nothing that is left on the table by NFL IQ.”