NFL Confidential: Scouts, Execs Dish on Most Underhyped, Overhyped 2026 Draft Prospects

After months of buildup, we're finally starting to see how the 2026 NFL Draft might shake out. We already know Fernando Mendoza will almost certainly be the No. 1 overall pick, and Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson might join him in the first round.

But is a first-round evaluation of Simpson the correct one? Are the first-round evaluations of other top prospects also correct? 

We surveyed numerous scouts and executives across the NFL to figure out which prospects in the 2026 NFL Draft are underhyped and overhyped as we're less than two weeks from one of the league's grand events. One of the things we came away with was that there wasn't even a consensus on Mendoza, let alone Simpson and some of the other quarterbacks.

So, which prospects should we be keeping our eyes on ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft? Here are the prospects executives think are getting too much hype, and the ones who aren't getting hyped up enough. 

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Ralph Vacchiano: Most people around the league seem to believe there is only one quarterback truly worthy of being picked in the first round of the NFL Draft this year.

Don’t be surprised if there are two.

"You see it every year. Quarterbacks are so important we end up talking ourselves into guys who either aren’t really good enough, or just aren’t ready," one assistant general manager told me. "We spend a million hours on them, and because there are so few who can really play in the league, guys with just a little bit of talent end up looking like stars by comparison.

"They end up getting overhyped, and then they end up getting overdrafted. Happens every year."

The one to watch this year: Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson.

"We’re talking about him as a first-rounder now?" one scout told me. "That’s less about