It’s long been considered an essentially foregone conclusion that Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza will go No. 1 overall to the Raiders at the end of April. Las Vegas isn’t the only team that needs an upgrade at the quarterback position, though, and Mendoza isn’t the only passer available in the 2026 NFL Draft. According to Tony Pauline of EssentiallySports, Alabama’s Ty Simpson could be a potential solution to the Browns’ longstanding quarterback woes, and he could hear his name called much sooner in the draft than anyone is currently expecting. 
Simpson has long been seen as the draft’s QB2, behind the consensus No. 1, Mendoza. He had some competition in Oregon quarterback Dante Moore in early speculations, but Moore returned to Eugene for another season, essentially clearing the field of competition for Simpson. The hierarchy lately has been Mendoza at QB1, a large gap between him and Simpson at QB2, then another significant gap between Simpson and the next group of passers which includes Penn State’s Drew Allar, LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier, and Miami’s Carson Beck.
Though there’s been a perceived gap between Mendoza and Simpson, there have been projections in which Mendoza and Simpson mirror Cam Ward and Jaxson Dart from last year’s draft, with Mendoza at the top and Simpson standing a chance at sneaking into the back of the first round. Pauline, though, is asserting that some now believe Simpson could end up hearing his name sometime in the first 12 picks of the draft next month. These rumors started spreading even before Simpson impressed scouts and coaches at the NFL Scouting Combine last weekend, further bettering his position in the eyes of the NFL’s talent evaluators.
Pauline also noted a specific team that seems particularly interested in the former Crimson Tide passer, claiming the Browns have been “doing extensive work on Simpson.” This notion had been floated days earlier by Mary Kay Cabot at Cleveland.com. Cabot had written how new head coach Todd Monken has been a fan of Simpson since the days he recruited him as the offensive coordinator at Georgia years ago.
“I like Ty,” Monken told reporters at the combine. “I liked Ty when he was coming out (of high school). When I first got to Georgia, they hadn’t offered him, and I went up there and talked to his dad. In fact, his dad, Jason, is a Southern Miss alum, and I was the head coach at Southern Miss. So, we got to know them really well. Really fond of Ty, obviously, really good football player.”
Monken went on to note that his new team will not be complacent with the players it has in the building already. He told the media, “We’re going to do our due diligence to make sure that our roster–, that we put ourselves in the best position we can to score points, which starts with that (quarterback) position.”
Currently, the top projected contenders to win the QB1 job in Cleveland are the much-maligned Deshaun Watson and second-year Pro Bowler Shedeur Sanders. We haven’t seen Watson’s best football since two years before Monken offered Simpson at Georgia in 2022. And, though Sanders provided some excitement here and there as a rookie fourth option in Cleveland last year, he has a long way to go before he can be securely considered QB1. With Monken and Co. pledging to explore all options at quarterback, including external options, it stands to reason the Simpson could join the party in Cleveland and become another horse in the race for the starting job.
The Browns currently hold the Nos. 6, 24, and 39 draft picks on Days 1 and 2 of the draft. Simpson likely isn’t going sixth overall, unless some serious pressure and competition build up around the 23-year-old, so Simpson could be Cleveland’s selection at No. 24 or in the early second round. In order for Pauline’s top 12 prediction to be more feasible, the Browns may search out a team in the six picks behind them who may be looking to move up, and trade back to acquire some extra draft capital and draft Simpson a bit closer to his perceived draft projections.
He *could* turn out to be a starter. Sure. Could. But how often have we seen a quarterback who wasn’t seen as a consensus first rounder get pushed way up into the first round turn out to be a good idea? If he goes in the top half of the first round, I would hope it would be to the Rams, where he would have a good coaching staff and be able to sit behind Stafford. But man, it seems rich to me. Good potential, too many red flags to go that high.
Bo Nix has been decent, but the draft does overinflate the value of a lot of QB prospects.
Nix landed with the ideal coach for him, but also he was the most experienced quarterback of all time entering the draft, which is kind of the opposite of Simpson.
Not to mention the browns need multiple o lineman and Wr’s already
He has a great resume. It’s not perfect, but Simpson was also the reason that Alabama won a lot of those games. Miller was injured, the defense had hiccups at points, and Simpson made a lot of clutch plays against difficult opponents (albeit ending in dismal fashion). In my eyes, it’s hard to say that another QB other than Mendoza was more successful and more valuable individually at that position than Simpson to his respective team.
Only one year as a starter is a big red flag on a resume though. Not that there weren’t perfectly valid reasons for him not to start. Not that his physical tools or character are problems. But how many guys have started that few college games in recent years and gone on to be good NFL quarterbacks?
Simpson is a real killer out there.
Reaching for a day 2 or 3 QB in the first round never got anybody fired so go for it
Chris Ballard: *sweats nervously*
The Browns have a young Pro Bowl QB on their roster. They are set at the position for the next 10 years. 🙂
Roflmao 😂 Yes it’s stats prove it. Another Brady Quinn.
you funny guy!
Media does it every year try to make a non 1st round talent go high. Then if or when they slip they question the teams and why the guy is falling.