Nick Saban evaluates Ty Simpson's NFL prospects, suggests Alabama QB not 'play right away'

Ty Simpson has been one of the 2026 NFL Draft‘s more polarizing and talked-about prospects ahead of this weekend’s three-day event in Pittsburgh. For weeks now, NFL pundits have debated everything from Simpson’s place among his fellow draft-eligible quarterbacks, as well as how high he could be taken.

But to hear former Alabama coach-turned-ESPN analyst Nick Saban tell it, when the ex-Crimson Tide quarterback is drafted isn’t as important as where. And Saban should know after signing Simpson as a five-star recruit in the 2022 cycle, his penultimate recruiting class at Alabama.

“I think Ty Simpson is a guy that didn’t play as much in college as a lot of these quarterbacks as they developed. So he’s only played, what, 15 games or whatever? And I think maturity would be the word that I’d say is important in the development of his game,” Saban said of Simpson during an appearance on Wednesday’s The Pat McAfee Show on location in Pittsburgh. “I think he can throw it well enough, he’s athletic enough, decision-making, processing, drifting in the pocket (are) things you can improve on with experience.

“Because maturity is nothing more than making the right decision at the right time, and that comes with experience and repetition. He doesn’t have enough of that, but he will get it, and I think be a very good player. But he needs to go someplace where he has a chance to develop, and not play right away – that’s just my opinion.”

Sounds like Saban would be in favor of Simpson landing with the Los Angeles Rams, one of several rumored destinations, where he could sit behind 38-year-old veteran Matt Stafford, the 2025 NFL MVP. The Rams own the No. 13 overall pick but don’t pick again until No. 61 near the end of Round 2.

Simpson has also been mentioned in connection with other quarterback-needy teams such as the Arizona Cardinals, New York Jets, Cleveland Browns, and host Pittsburgh Steelers. The Cardinals are among the betting favorites to draft Simpson, given their inherent need and potential to trade back into the bottom of the first round if Simpson is still available late Thursday night.

The Jets, who own three of the Top 33 overall picks, have the second-best odds to draft Simpson, according to BetMGM, but don’t have an entrenched starter at QB. The Jets traded away last year’s QB1, Justin Fields, to the Chiefs earlier this offseason and then acquired veteran Geno Smith from the Las Vegas Raiders for a late-round pick.

The draft host Steelers are another team that could be an ideal landing spot for Simpson, at least in Saban’s eyes, especially if 42-year-old free agent QB Aaron Rodgers decides to return for another season in Pittsburgh. Of course, that news isn’t necessarily expected before Thursday night.

Despite only one season as Alabama’s starter, Simpson is widely considered the No. 2 quarterback in this year’s draft class behind only Indiana‘s Fernando Mendoza, the expected No. 1 overall pick by the Raiders. He’s also the only other quarterback with a first-round grade, which will make Simpson’s ultimate landing spot an ongoing storyline until he comes off the board, especially if that doesn’t happen until Friday.