Mina Kimes' alarming list confirms just how big an NFL Draft outlier Ty Simpson really is

Lately, much of the pre-draft conversation around Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson is whether or not he measures up to Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza as QB1 in the 2026 class. However, Simpson’s measurements make him a significant outlier among all NFL quarterbacks and a significant risk in the first round. 

At the NFL Combine, Simpson measured 6-foot-1 and 211 pounds. While his height isn’t changing, he didn’t do physical testing, and many have fairly speculated that his playing weight is under the 211 pounds he was carrying around Indianapolis. He was listed at 208 for his redshirt junior year at Alabama. 

This week, Mina Kimes, who often shares the TV screen on ESPN with Dan Orlovsky, the leader of the Simpson for QB1 campaign, welcomed Yahoo Sports’ Nate Tice and The Ringer’s Danny Kelly onto her podcast to evaluate the quarterbacks in the 2026 NFL Draft class. Kimes and Tice each used a list of former quarterbacks to help contextualize how big a physical outlier Simpson is in the NFL, and it should be a significant red flag to interested teams. 

Ty Simpson is far from prototypical size for an NFL QB

Kimes listed the NFL quarterbacks under 6-foot-2 and under 215 pounds since the year 2000, who have more than 16 starts. The list includes Drew Brees, Russell Wilson, “who is definitely not under 215, or at least wasn’t for much of that time,” Kimes quipped. Michael Vick, Kyler Murray, Doug Flutie, and Bryce Young. 

Nate Tice provided a similar list to add further context. His list was of “quarterbacks since 2002 to be listed sub-205 (pounds), so I didn’t even look at height, and throw for more than 5,000 yards in their careers.” That list reads: Kirk Cousins, Lamar Jackson, Jeff Garcia, Aaron Brooks, and Bryce Young. Of that group, only Jackson and Young were drafted in the first round. 

The point of their lists was not to say that Simpson cannot succeed in the NFL because of his size, but to say that he would be a prominent outlier if he did. And to add the context that most of those outliers were either freak athletes or were drafted in later rounds because they were viewed as major risks by NFL decision makers. 

A common comp for Simpson is Brock Purdy, but even Purdy weighed over 225 pounds when he was the final pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, and still, teams were reluctant to bet on his skillset early in the draft. Ultimately, it was a mistake not to, but one of the reasons is that there isn’t a history of players succeeding in the league at his size and with his physical tools. 

On top of the size concerns, Simpson has just one season of experience as a starting quarterback, and in that year, he dealt with multiple nagging injuries down the stretch. The questions about his size aren’t just about his ability to deliver the football; it's whether or not he has the body armor (not the drink) needed to withstand hits from NFL defensive linemen for an entire 17-game regular season and potentially a 21-game run if he were to lead a team to the Super Bowl. 

One of Simpson's biggest strengths as a prospect is his willingness and aggressiveness over the middle of the field. He’ll stand in the pocket and deliver into the high traffic areas where you need to throw the ball to create explosive plays in the NFL. However, to do that at the next level, you often have to stare down the barrel of a pass rusher and take a big hit. 

Simpson is a good athlete, not an elite one, especially not by NFL standards. If he adds weight, he’ll be sacrificing quickness and mobility, forcing him to operate from the pocket even more, where his lack of height will become a bigger issue. It’s something of a Catch-22, and it’s the reason NFL teams are reluctant to bet on a player of his size in the first round. 

So maybe the question shouldn’t be whether Simpson is QB1, but rather if he belongs in Round 1 at all.