Joey Aguilar was hoping to return to Knoxville in 2026 to serve as the Tennessee Vols’ starting quarterback this fall.

But unfortunately for Aguilar, an injunction that would’ve allowed him to play for the Vols in 2026 was denied earlier this offseason.

As a result, Aguilar is preparing for the 2026 NFL Draft.

The California native attended the NFL combine last month, but he was unable to throw due to the surgery he had in early January to remove a benign tumor.

NBC analyst has strong take on Joey Aguilar’s NFL Draft stock

Aguilar has mostly been viewed as a day three/undrafted type of prospect.

There are some analysts, however, that have a more positive view of Aguilar’s draft stock.

NBC Sports’ Chris Simms, the older brother of former Vols quarterback Matt Simms, has Aguilar as his No. 4 overall quarterback in the 2026 NFL Draft, behind Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, Alabama’s Ty Simpson, and Texas Tech’s Behren Morton.

“I just look at the guy, and he’s got starting quarterback caliber traits,” said Simms of Aguilar. “So I start there, and I look at it, and I know there’s other guys out there that we’d go, ‘Oh yeah, their film might have been a little bit better.’ I mean, first off, love his body. He’s got great legs. He’s got great muscle density. He has real structure to his body. It’s an easy 230 (pounds)….he can take a physical beating.”

Simms’ biggest concern with Aguilar is his throwing motion.

“His motion, I like it, I don’t love it,” said Simms. “Now, there’s no denying the power in the kid’s arm. The kid can throw and put some mustard on the football and make a lot of high level outside the number, down the field throws. You see that especially with Tennessee, when they line up by the sidelines, it’s like, you’re definitely gonna throw a few balls by the sidelines, because that’s where the receivers are sometimes.

“The motion, though, like I said, powerful arm. I don’t love it. He does a lot of good, and has his body in the right positions pre-throw. But he’s another one of those, like a Ty Simpson, where when you watch it, it’s vertical, instead of coming around (and rotating with the lower half) at times. And I think that’s what leads to him being a little inaccurate at times.”

Simms added that he has a third or fourth round projection on Aguilar.

“I like this kid a lot,” said Simms. “He has starting quarterback traits. If he can fix this little issue with the throwing, which is fixable, in my estimation, he can become a machine. He has all the tools and the body. And I wrote [that he’s a] late third, fourth rounder.”

Aguilar is hoping to work out and throw at Tennessee’s pro day later this month.

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