Ty Simpson Reacts to Potential Slide in 2026 NFL Draft amid New Rumors on Jets, Cardinals, Rams

Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson is trying not to focus too much on the general conversation about his stock heading into the 2026 NFL draft.

"It's out of my control. I've done what I can do," he told reporters Wednesday. "I put my best foot forward, and whatever happens, happens. I'm at peace with it. I'm understanding that anything could happen. Just really excited to get started."

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported on April 18 that the Arizona Cardinals are "most often" linked with Simpson, and he threw the New York Jets into the mix, too.

Adam Schefter of ESPN reported Monday that the Los Angeles Rams evaluated the Crimson Tide signal-caller as well. They may have moved on, however, after trading away the No. 29 overall pick in the deal to acquire cornerback Trent McDuffie from the Kansas City Chiefs.

Simpson is the No. 44 overall player on Bleacher Report's 2026 big board. The quarterback premium could mean he's taken much earlier than that, though.

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The gap between him and the next best prospects is pretty substantial as well. Penn State's Drew Allar and LSU's Garrett Nussmeier are QB3 and QB4, respectively, and they're both outside the top 100 in the B/R big board.

Reaching for Simpson in the first round would have the added benefit of getting a fifth-year club option in his rookie contract. That was likely part of the calculus behind the New York Giants trading back into Round 1 to get Jaxson Dart last year.

The Cardinals have the No. 3 overall pick, while the Jets will be on the clock at Nos. 2 and 16. Any of those spots would be pretty early for Simpson. Arizona may feel some pressure to move up from the 34th pick, though, when New York will open Round 2 on Friday.

Simpson is undoubtedly in a tough position. There's a pretty wide variance on where he could realistically go in the draft, and the last few weeks have seen experts and evaluators closely scrutinize his game to explain why he is or isn't worthy of first-round consideration.

Tuning that out as much as he can is the only way to maintain some mental balance.