The Ty Simpson NFL Draft scouting reports vary wildly, and when the clock starts on
April 23rd in Pittsburgh, teams will have to evaluate whether they plan to buy or sell his
stock. Not only does he carry the stigma of being an Alabama quarterback (things have
not worked out for Mac Jones or Bryce Young), but he also has just one year of starting
experience at the college level. That may be enough to gamble on physical freaks like
Cam Newton or Anthony Richardson, but not a player like Simpson.
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At 6’2 and 208 pounds, Simpson lacks prototypical size, but is at least not undersized.
He faced stiff competition in the SEC last season, but didn’t dominate statistically as
Jones did in his one season. Simpson completed 64.5% of his passes for 3,567 yards
(237.8 yards per game), 28 touchdowns and five interceptions. Against top-25
competition, he completed 65.1% of his passes for 238.3 yards per game and 13
touchdowns to three interceptions over eight games.
While his stats did not go down against ranked teams, and this could be viewed as a
positive, it also means that his stats did not go up against lesser teams. Case in point
would be his game against Eastern Illinois on November 22, when he threw for just 147
yards and had no touchdowns and two interceptions. It’s a troubling sign when a big
school quarterback struggles against an FCS school.
In terms of his size and his stats, Simpson compares similarly to two other one-year
starters who went in the first round of the NFL Draft. Mitchell Trubisky was the second
overall pick in 2017 (ahead of Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson). He had started
just one year at North Carolina, and measured 6’2 and 220 coming out of college. He
had completed 68% of his passes for 3,748 yards and had 30 touchdowns to six
interceptions. Granted, he played against ACC competition, not SEC.
Mark Sanchez started one season at USC under Pete Carroll before the New York Jets
took him fifth overall in the 2009 NFL Draft. He’s also 62 but a little heavier, at 230
pounds. His junior season, he completed 65.8% of his passes for 3,207 yards, with 34
touchdowns to interceptions. Both Sanchez and Trubisky had one good season in their
careers, and based on where they were selected, could be considered busts.
Ty Simpson NFL Draft Future
There are a number of teams that need a quarterback for 2026, and they will
undoubtedly have his name on their draft board. If their general managers want to be
remembered the same way that the GMs who drafted Sanchez and Trubisky are
remembered, then they should absolutely draft Simpson in round one. If they hope to be
remembered more fondly, they should pass on him, unless he’s there late in the second.
Tua Tagovailoa and Kyler Murray are available via trade. Aaron Rodgers and Kirk
Cousins are aging but may come back, and Derel Carr is keeping his phone line open.
The best option for a quarterback-hungry team could be Malik Willis, who is an
unrestricted free agent. The point is, there are a number of moves a team could make to
fill their quarterback need that are better than drafting Simpson in round one. Fans of
those teams are hoping they have smart GMs, but at least one of them will inevitably make the stupid move.
