Mel Kiper Jr., Field Yates evaluate where Ty Simpson could be selected in 2026 NFL Draft

After opting not to return to Alabama for another year, Ty Simpson presents an intriguing NFL Draft evaluation. He started 2025 strong and struggled down the stretch, but is still a projected first-round pick, according to ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr.

In his first mock draft released Wednesday, Kiper projected Simpson to go No. 16 overall to the New York Jets. He acknowledged the up-and-down go at Alabama this year, which started with 21 touchdowns to one interception across nine games and ended with seven touchdowns to four interceptions across the final six games.

Kiper and Field Yates agreed Simpson is likely to go in the middle of the first round. In fact, Kiper compared him to fellow former Alabama quarterback Mac Jones, although with a bit more athleticism.

“Dan [Orlovsky] said around the middle of the first. I thought, hey, Mac Jones went in mid-first,” Kiper said Wednesday on NFL Live. “This guy’s a more athletic, faster version of [Mac Jones]. And you think about the first nine games – 21 touchdowns, only one pick. Went back to my notes, I was raving about this kid. I had him 16 on the board moving up, with an arrow moving up. Then, he had some struggles. The o-line didn’t get it done, they had no running game, Ryan Williams didn’t play up to the level expected. And he had some struggles. He had five fumbles over a seven-game period.

“But you really have to balance it all out. At the end of the day, I think Ty Simpson certainly deserves to be a mid-first round draft choice.”

All told, during his lone season as Alabama’s starting quarterback, Simpson completed 64.5% of his passes for 3,567 yards and 28 touchdowns, to five interceptions. He also had two rushing touchdowns and showed an ability to extend plays with his legs.

Field Yates: Pre-draft process ‘will be good to Ty Simpson’

Field Yates also pointed out the evaluation around Ty Simpson could be mixed right now. That’s where the pre-draft process comes into play, and he thinks the former Alabama standout could be one of the big risers.

“I think if you polled 32 NFL teams, the grade would be a little bit lower than 16th overall,” Yates said. “It might be closer to the second round for Ty Simpson. What happens every year, though, with quarterbacks? They get boosted up the board. Why? Because there are more teams that need quarterbacks than there are quarterbacks available.

“Ultimately, I think the pre-draft process will be good to Ty Simpson. I also remind people of this every single year: If the draft were held in January, it would go a whole lot different than if the draft were held in April when it is held. You know why? Because we forget about the bad stuff and focus on the good stuff. And there was a lot of good stuff.”

Simpson’s ability to make plays with his legs is part of what makes him appealing to teams, Yates said. While it doesn’t necessarily jump off the page, he admitted teams could be intrigued by that part of his game.

“It was a tale of two seasons for Ty Simpson at Alabama this past year,” Yates said. “I think the Jets will gravitate towards the processing, the accuracy, enough mobility.

“It’s not elite razzle-dazzle, but even Kirby Smart, the Georgia head coach, talked about Ty Simpson with his legs is a bigger problem than people realize. We saw that in the Auburn game, late in the Iron Bowl with the dramatic win. So there’s enough good there that I do think Ty Simpson finds himself somewhere in the middle of the first round.”