Will fewer CFB starts affect QB Ty Simpson's NFL draft stock? - ESPN

WHEN EVALUATING NFL players over the years, John Elway has often said, «The tape is your résumé.» And for the best quarterback prospects in each NFL draft, that résumé usually contains a lot of tape — multiple seasons as the starter, with a wide assortment of throws to every level of the field and in a variety of situations.

But as league executives continue their perennial pursuit to find «The Guy» at QB, they're presented with the conundrum of Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson in the 2026 NFL draft class.

Simpson, who is expected by many in the league to be the second signal-caller off the board after Indiana's Fernando Mendoza, started only 15 games in four seasons with the Crimson Tide, all coming in 2025. On one hand, Simpson completed 64.5% of his passes for 3,567 passing yards, 28 touchdowns and five interceptions as he led Alabama to the College Football Playoff quarterfinals. On the other, that limited college starting experience is going to scare off some front offices and NFL decision-makers, no matter how exciting the tape

If he is selected in the first round on April 23 in Pittsburgh, Simpson will be the 10th quarterback with 20 or fewer college starts to be picked on the first day of the draft since 2006, according to ESPN Research. And he'd be the fifth with as few as 15. The track record of the other passers on that list has been largely underwhelming. But Simpson is unfazed.

«Everybody talks about my starts, but I played in other games besides that,» he said. «I played really good NFL players. Think about my freshman year, learning from the No. 1 overall pick and Heisman Trophy winner [Bryce Young]… going on scout team I got Will Anderson [Jr.], Dallas Turner, Henry To'oTo'o, got Kool-Aid [McKinstry] on one