Ty Simpson: Breaking down the NFL draft stock of the Alabama QB

Quarterbacks are the lifeblood of the NFL. Anytime draft analysts sniff any potentially promising new blood, we often sink our fangs in unapologetically. Sometimes, that sanguine desire bleeds into something great, like Joe Burrow or Jayden Daniels.

Too often, we bite a little too hard on a player who needs to flesh out his game more before hitting the NFL. That appears to be the case in 2025 with Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson.

Simpson was already something of a different type of evaluation as an Alabama quarterback who stayed despite not playing. He waited his turn in Tuscaloosa behind Bryce Young and Jalen Milroe before taking over the Crimson Tide offense in 2025.

In his three seasons as a reserve, Simpson threw just 50 passes before emerging as the starter for Kalen DeBoer’s latest incarnation at Alabama.

Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson — Alabama's Ty Simpson (15) celebrates following the College Football Playoff game against the Oklahoma Sooners | SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The 6-foot-2, 208-pounder immediately grabbed scouting attention with his early-season play. Completing all 17 of his passes in a blowout win over Louisiana-Monroe doesn’t come with the high degree of difficulty, but the ball placement and attacking style still mightily impressed.

Following that up with an almost-perfect game against Wisconsin and then a strong, steely-headed win over Georgia, the draftnik bloodhounds zeroed in on Simpson.

However, as Alabama’s season progressed into the tougher SEC defenses and opposing defenses got more film on what Simpson could and couldn’t do, the draft-centric warts started to show. The last six games, beginning with an uneven performance in the narrow win at South Carolina in Week 9, have definitely cooled the draft stock for Simpson.

There’s a definite change in Simpson’s performance in those games, which includes a non-conference win over Eastern Illinois that saw him throw two INTs.

	Comp %	TD/INT	Yards/gm	QB Rating	Big Time Throws	Avg. yards/att
1st 8 games	70.2	18/1	275.9	158.79	19	8.86
Next 6 games	58.1	8/4	222.8	120.33	8	6.34

That culminated in a woeful performance in the SEC Championship, a rematch against the same Georgia team he lit up earlier. In that game, Simpson looked overwhelmed by pressure and lacking the zip on his throws that had predominated his early-season work.

Then came Simpson's bounce-back performance in Alabama’s comeback playoff win over Oklahoma. After a slow start, Simpson showed NFL-level poise and accuracy in throwing for two touchdowns and making several impressive reads and throws in leading the victory rally.

With a relatively small sample size to work with, Simpson's strong skill display against Oklahoma was a big one for his NFL prospects. The first half of his one season as a starter flashed high-end potential, but the uneven finish makes projecting Simpson into the first round much more of a reach.