$6.5 million QB ranked as No. 2 quarterback prospect after transfer portal frenzy

A quarterback from a major college football program has been ranked as the No. 2 prospect at the position prior to the 2026 NFL draft.

Alabama's Ty Simpson (15) rushes in the second half of the College Football Playoff game against the Oklahoma Sooners | SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The 2026 NFL draft will take place next to Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from April 23 to April 25.

A position that receives copious amounts of attention before every NFL draft is quarterback. The 2026 quarterback projections are unanimous in their prediction that former Indiana starter and Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza will go at the No. 1 overall pick to the Las Vegas Raiders.

However, the water was muddied when Oregon starter Dante Moore decided to return to the Ducks for another season of college football. Moore had long been projected as the No. 2 overall pick in the class.

NFL draft experts have been scrambling to determine who the next best quarterbacks are in the wake of Moore's decision. ESPN NFL draft analysts Mel Kiper Jr., Matt Miller, Steve Muench, Jordan Reid and Field Yates have compiled lists of their top five prospects at each position over the last three weeks.

The five are in agreement that former Alabama starter Ty Simpson is the No. 2 quarterback prospect in the 2026 NFL draft.

Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson (15) is tripped up by Vanderbilt defensive lineman Zaylin Wood (15) | Gary Cosby Jr.-Imagn Images

The 6-foot-2, 208-pounder was a five-star prospect in the 2022 recruiting cycle when he committed to Nick Saban and Alabama. Simpson was behind both Bryce Young and Jalen Milroe that season, so his appearances were limited to the later stages of blowout victories over Utah State, Vanderbilt and Austin Peay.

Simpson mostly backed up Milroe in 2023 and 2024, but Saban played both Simpson and Tyler Buchner in the Crimson Tide's game at USF in 2023 following a disappointing performance from Milroe against Texas. In total, Simpson played in 12 games and completed 25 of 45 passes for 346 yards while rushing for 137 yards and a trio of touchdowns in 2023 and 2024.

2025 was Simpson's lone season as the Crimson Tide's starter. He passed for 3,567 yards, 28 touchdowns and five interceptions and ran for 93 yards and two touchdowns while guiding Alabama to its first SEC Championship and College Football Playoff appearances since 2023.

Simpson was named to the All-SEC Second Team by the league's coaches, an honor he shared with Trinidad Chambliss of Ole Miss.

Prior to his decision to enter the NFL draft, there was some flirtation from other college football programs to lure him their way via the NCAA transfer portal for the 2026 season.

However, Simpson ultimately chose the NFL draft, a decision that could see him go as early as the No. 2 overall pick if the New York Jets decide to pursue a quarterback.