The consensus has been that since Oregon's Dante Moore elected to return to college instead of entering the NFL Draft, Alabama's Ty Simpson was the No. 2 QB in the 2026 NFL Draft and a near lock to be selected in the first round come April.
But not everyone appears to be in agreement with that.
In Daniel Jeremiah's first mock draft of the season for NFL.com, he does not have Simpson as one of the 32 first-round selections. He may still believe Simpson to be the No. 2 QB in the draft, but that point is unclear. Indiana's Fernando Mendoza, who he has No. 1 overall to the Raiders, is the only QB in the first round in Jeremiah's mock.
Ty Simpson not included in 1st round of Daniel Jeremiah's mock draft
Jeremiah is in the minority in not including Simpson as a first-round pick. That would be in direct contradiction to the feedback Simpson received that ultimately led him to enter the NFL Draft and forego his final season of collegiate eligibility.
It's hard to believe that Mendoza would go No. 1 overall and then no other QB would be taken in the first round. Not with the priority placed on quarterbacks among NFL franchises, and not with how many QB-needy teams there are out there.
Only once in the last 12 NFL Drafts has there only been one quarterback selected in the first round. That happened in 2022 when Kenny Pickett was the lone QB taken among the first 32 picks by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
It nearly happened last year, however, with Cam Ward being selected first overall by the Tennessee Titans, and the next QB not coming off the board until pick 25 when the New York Giants selected Jaxson Dart.
If Simpson is ultimately not taken in the first round of April's draft, it could put an incredible Alabama streak in jeopardy. The Crimson Tide has had at least one player selected in the first-round for 17 consecutive years, dating all the way back to 2009.
With Simpson out of the first round, Jeremiah's mock has that streak continuing anyway, though just barely. Jeremiah has OT Kadyn Proctor going No. 24 overall to the Cleveland Browns, though the mammoth former Alabama left tackle has a wide-range of draft possibilities thanks to his inconsistent tape.
He's a big talent and an unbelievable athlete, however, which should keep him in the first round.