Ty Simpson had big money offers in the Transfer Portal, so he clearly had conviction that he’d go in the first round to leave Alabama and college football for the 2026 NFL Draft. The NFL Scouting Combine last week was his chance to cement his place in Round 1, but measuring in at 6-foot-1, 211 pounds may have only exacerbated questions about his long-term durability at the next level.
Now, in Dane Brugler’s latest first-round mock draft for The Athletic, Simpson’s first-round slide is only stopped by a team trading back into the first round to address its quarterback vacancy. However, once free agency starts next week in the NFL, that vacancy might be filled and Simpson may not have a clear Round 1 backstop.
Dane Brugler mocks Ty Simpson to the Arizona Cardinals at No. 28 overall
To get back into the first round in Brugler’s mock draft, the Cardinals swing a trade with the Houston Texans. If Simpson falls into the late 20s, that’s likely to be the case for whichever team wants him because rather than wait until Round 2, they’d prefer to have the fifth-year option that comes with a first-round pick.
However, there’s no guarantee that the Cardinals will be that desperate once free agency is over. With new head coach Mike LaFleur, Arizona has been a rumored landing spot for Malik Willis, who blossomed into one of the league’s best backup quarterbacks under Mike’s brother Matt in Green Bay.
As is almost always the case in the NFL, quarterback demand outstrips the supply, so needless to say, Willis has plenty of potential suitors. One of those teams may pay up to keep Willis away from Arizona, but the Cardinals have announced that they intend to cut former No. 1 overall pick Kyler Murray next week when the new league year begins, so Arizona is as desperate for an answer at QB as any team in the NFL.
Simpson would be a good theoretical fit with Arizona and LaFleur, a branch off the Sean McVay/Kyle Shanahan coaching tree. Those offenses thrive on attacking the middle of the field and need quarterbacks willing to throw into tight windows with anticipation, and that might be Simpson’s greatest strength as a prospect. Simpson hunted big plays between the numbers at Alabama last season and, for the most part, has the arm to cash those checks.
That’s also why Simpson has continually been connected to McVay’s Rams, who held two first-round picks until Wednesday when they swung a trade with Kansas City to swap the 29th overall pick for All-Pro defensive back Trent McDuffie. The Rams are still in a Super Bowl window with an aging Matthew Stafford at quarterback, and along with removing a potential backstop for Simpson in the first-round, the trade signals that LA is in a win-now mode after losing to Seattle in the NFC Championship Game, and likely won’t be searching for a QB of the future.