Alabama redshirt junior quarterback Ty Simpson declared for the 2026 NFL draft on Wednesday.
“Grateful for every single second. Blessed beyond measure to be able to chase my dreams,” Simpson wrote in a caption for an Instagram video. “Time to roll. Roll Tide.”
ESPN’s Pete Thamel previously reported the news.
Ty’s father Jason—who is UT-Martin’s coach—revealed to Thamel and ESPN’s Mark Schlabach that every NFL general manager he spoke to gave the Crimson Tide star a first-round grade.
“Nobody said second round,” Jason Simpson told Thamel and Schlabach.
According to Jason, Ty had “very, very lucrative” offers available in the transfer portal if he chose to play another season of college football. Thamel and Schlabach reported that Miami, Oregon and Tennessee were among the teams that would’ve had interest in Simpson had he entered the portal.
Simpson starred at Westview High School in Martin, Tennessee, before his days in Alabama. He accounted for 2,827 passing yards and 41 passing touchdowns (just three interceptions) and added 862 rushing yards and 11 more scores on the ground en route to leading Westview to a state title in his senior year (2021). Simpson was a 5-star recruit in the class of 2022 and ranked 26th overall (third among quarterbacks), per the 247Sports Composite list.
Simpson played behind Bryce Young in 2022 and then Jalen Milroe in 2023 and 2024 before getting his shot at starting in 2025.
For the season, Simpson completed 64.5 percent of his passes for 3,567 yards 28 touchdowns and five interceptions.
The latest B/R NFL Scouting Department big board ranks Simpson No. 30 overall and as the No. 3 quarterback behind Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza and Oregon’s Dante Moore.
The consensus big board from NFL Mock Draft Database ranks Simpson 20th overall and third among quarterbacks behind Mendoza and Moore.