2026 NFL Draft: Ryan Clark urges Arizona Cardinals to not take Ty Simpson in first round

Multiple draft experts believe the Arizona Cardinals could trade up in the 2026 NFL Draft to land quarterback Ty Simpson. On Monday, ESPN’s Ryan Clark warned the Cardinals not to go after the former Alabama QB so early in the draft.

“Ty Simpson has so much to work on,” Clark said on First Take. “Ty Simpson can’t be a dude that goes to a bad football team because all of those things that you’re saying about who Alabama was that contributed to Ty Simpson not playing well down the stretch — if somebody drafts him early, they’re probably going to have some of those same issues. So, if you’re the Arizona Cardinals, don’t bid against yourself. Ain’t nobody else going to pick him in the first round.

“You wait. You try to get him later on in the draft, and now you can allow him to progress and sit in the manner that he should, to allow him to accumulate some of the reps that he didn’t get at Alabama. Because when you say, ‘Hey, it was nine games of good football and six games of subpar football,’ we don’t have two other years as a starting quarterback of excellence to compare and contrast that to.”

Simpson is firmly considered the No. 2 quarterback in the 2026 NFL Draft. Experts don’t expect the third QB of the draft to hear his name called until at least the third round.

Therefore, Clark believes it’d be a mistake for the Cardinals to trade away draft value to land Simpson, who will be available in the second round anyways. It’s worth noting that Clark is excluding the fact that another team could swoop in and unexpectedly select Simpson.

After all, Simpson completed 64.5% of his pass attempts in the 2025 campaign for 3,567 yards and 28 touchdowns, while only throwing five interceptions. Simpson battled ball security issues in the back half of Alabama’s season, but the problem hasn’t scared off scouts.

Simpson only improved his stock at the NFL Scouting Combine when he put on a show during positional drills. Despite Simpson’s upside, NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein agrees the 23-year-old will need time to develop at the next level.

“Simpson is mechanically sound from a footwork and release perspective, providing a favorable foundation to work from,” Zierlein wrote. “He’s above average as a processor and decision-maker, but timing and anticipation remain works in progress.

“Arm talent and velocity are average, which limits his success. His repeatable process should help iron out ball placement inconsistencies the more he plays. … One-year starters rarely “boom” so he’ll need a patient staff and a clear developmental roadmap to fill in the missing pieces.”