Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson will declare for the 2026 NFL Draft, Pete Thamel of ESPN reports. Simpson informed Alabama’s coaches of his decision to forgo his senior season on Wednesday.
Simpson, ESPN’s 27th-ranked recruit coming out of high school, committed to Alabama in February 2021. He wound up playing sparingly with the Crimson Tide from 2022-24. Jalen Milroe, now a backup quarterback with the Seahawks, was Alabama’s starter during that three-year span.
With Milroe moving on to the pros, Simpson finally got his chance to lead the Crimson Tide’s offense this season. He completed 64.5% of passes and threw for 3,567 yards, 28 touchdowns and five interceptions in 15 games. Simpson earned second-team All-SEC honors and helped his team to a College Football Playoff berth.
Alabama advanced with a first-round win over Oklahoma, but its season ended with a 38-3 blowout loss to Indiana in the Rose Bowl. Hoosiers Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the potential No. 1 pick in this year’s draft, got the better of Simpson. After Simpson suffered a rib injury, backup Austin Mack replaced him early in the second half.
Despite an unceremonious ending to his time at Alabama, the 6-foot-2, 208-pound Simpson could come off the board early in April’s draft. However, assuming Mendoza and Oregon’s Dante Moore declare, expectations are they’ll enter the proceedings as the top-ranked QBs in the class.
Moore (No. 1) and Mendoza (No. 2) are the highest-rated prospects on Mel Kiper’s latest big board at any position. The ESPN draft analyst doesn’t have Simpson as a top 25 prospect, but he’s third among QBs.. If that holds up over the next few months, Simpson may have a chance to go in the first round.
No team is taking this guy in the first round.
LoL Good luck. Bama is horrible with QBs at the next level. Hurts got better at Oklahoma.
So are Ohio State QBs, Southern Cal QBs, Michigan QBs… you usually get one good one from a school. It’s as if it’s hard to find a good QB no matter what school he went to.
Hurts playing better in the Big 12 than the SEC, after another year of experience, also isn’t a huge surprise.
Backup QB in the NFL is a pretty nice job though! Can’t really fault the guy lol
Why in the world with only limited starts, would this guy not go back for another year? Somebody’s whispering sweet nothings in this kid’s ear..
He will be the 3rd QB off the board and likely in the first round, despite not being at that talent level at the moment. I agree he should go back to school for more development and then come out as possibly the best QB.
The obvious downside would be potential injury. I also don’t know if he’d be better than QB3 in next year’s class even with extra development so might as well make the jump now.
Counter argument is he’s in the age of NIL. Go back, get development and get paid. Even if you get hurt or have a down year, he’s probably still got enough helium to end up getting drafted
Speaking of Milroe, could the Seahawks use him as a running option in these playoffs? With homefield advantage, they dont need to hold anything back.
They could but doubt it. Haven’t had success with him before, although limited window.
The strength they have in run game is K9 and Charbs. But you never know..could happen.
Yeah, I get a feeling both will get a heavy load but this could be a good opportunity for MacDonald to see if he can trust him for some plays.
The one-two punch is already really good (they and Atlanta probably are the best in that area right now). Milroe definitely has some trick play packages in the books, I would bet on that, but I don’t know how badly they need them with those two running the ball.
He’d be a cleaner prospect with another year starting, but he’d also be playing a full year having already graduated. I don’t see him as having the highest ceiling or the safest floor, but could see him being a good fit for the Rams or Dolphins. He’s the son of a quarterback turned longtime coach. Wouldn’t be shocked if he gels well with the kind of coach who wants a surrogate at QB operating his offense.
Hard pass from Miami, unless it’s in the 3rd round. They should not draft a qb this year where they are picking in round 1. Offensively line and CB are probably the most likely outcomes in round 1 at their current pick
To be clear I was not saying I would take him at 11. Just saying situations I think could be good fits.
In his favor, Simpson also has by far the best resume in terms of competition that he’s played. His stats are great overall, and obviously dip against good teams, but he’s played and beaten more of those teams in clutch moments than any other QB this year.
I do agree, though, that he’s not a team-proof QB. In fairness, no player truly is, but some are easier to ruin than others. Simpson doesn’t have great size or extremely promising athletic traits, and he has only one year of starting experience. Granted, that experience was not beating on bad teams like most one year wonders, but it is still just a year. I do think that he’d be a dream candidate for a coach with a strong offensive system.
This just seems like a perfect situation for the Rams, honestly, with Stafford still effective but the team randomly trying to move on from him due to his age. Of course, there are many other teams that could use him, and there’s no telling how high L.A. is on Simpson, but that seems like a great pick for them.
12 career starts. Fewest since Trubisky. and he looked worse than Mitch did. Hopefully nobody deludes themselves, but desperation is at an all time high.
Welcome to Cleveland….
Not.
Ready.
Not a first rounder I’ll be shocked if he can raise his stock through interviews and pro day/combine
I can see day 2 to cardinals or dolphins
2026 was supposed to be a top heavy qb draft .. manning .. allard and nussmeier among others .. kinda sad what we’re left with
Day 3 pick but may get reach in 3rd round.
Klubnick and Nussmeier got over-hyped pre-season, but they are both still decent prospects for a team that doesn’t need an immediate starter. Simpson seems like a low 2nd/3rd, but a lot can happen between now and April.
This dude quit on his team when they were getting smashed. Says he gave way to a QB who was 100% because he thought it gave them a better chance of winning. Cracked ribs aren’t fun, but dude could have played. Check him…I see more ho3 than dawg.
And did the opposite against other good teams, so I’ll give him some courtesy. At least that could be seen as a valid argument.
If you are right, though, I’d bring up Cam Ward, who played just long enough to set a touchdown record and then watched from the sideline as his team lost…and went number one. Different situation, but that says to me that teams don’t care if a guy quit on his college team, for some reason.
I wouldn’t even scratch my a*s with cracked ribs. That’s a little ridiculous to fault him for. He has an NFL career ahead of him, including money that could become generational wealth for his family. No use puncturing a lung or something.
Needs a year in the pros to sit and develop. Would be great to see him land with the Rams or Steelers and have Stafford/Rodgers coach him up for a year. For the Rams they could take him in the 1st, for the Steelers probably would have to be the 2nd or 3rd but doubt he lasts that long.
He’s definitely going in the first round lol