TEMPE, Ariz. — One of many greatest questions heading into the primary spherical of this NFL draft is whether or not the Arizona Cardinals will draft former Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson — and, if that’s the case, when.
If the Cardinals take Simpson in some unspecified time in the future Thursday or Friday, the subsequent query will grow to be: Will the Cardinals will play him immediately?
That reply is simply as difficult as whether or not Arizona will draft Simpson.
New Cardinals coach Mike LaFleur made it clear throughout his pre-draft information convention that he’d be open to not beginning a younger quarterback immediately whereas he discovered behind veteran quarterbacks.
Nonetheless, it is not as cut-and-dried as merely drafting a quarterback and sitting him.
“I imply, I believe there’s one thing to be stated about that,” LaFleur stated about sitting a quarterback for a yr. “It looks as if there isn’t any factual assertion with what I am about to say, however the school sport and the professional sport are simply so totally different. After which the place did that school participant play? Was the competitors as excessive because it was at College A in comparison with College B?
“And, so, there’s so many components in there. Finally, you are going to play the most effective participant that you just assume goes to provide the finest probability to win, interval.”
If Simpson had been to return in and immediately be higher than each quarterbacks on the roster, Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew II, he’d seemingly play. However, LaFleur stated if the rookie and vets are on the similar stage, then he’d relatively the rookie sit and study.
“If all issues are equal, then yeah, you’d relatively have that veteran type of present that man,” LaFleur stated. “However, once more, if all of us consider as a corporation that the younger man goes to provide the finest probability throughout that 60-minute sport to win, then you are going to throw him on the market.”
There is not quite a lot of priority for rookie quarterbacks sitting throughout their first season during the last 20 seasons, and there could possibly be two this yr. The Las Vegas Raiders signed Kirk Cousins this offseason and are presumably choosing Indiana’s nationwide championship-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the primary total decide.
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Of the 61 quarterbacks drafted within the first spherical since 2006, solely two — Jordan Love in 2020 and J.J. McCarthy in 2024 — didn’t play of their rookie seasons, based on ESPN Analysis. Love did not as a result of he sat behind Aaron Rodgers, and McCarthy did not as a result of he was injured. Nonetheless, of the opposite 59, solely two — Brady Quinn in 2007 and Jake Locker in 2011 — did not begin at the very least one sport.
Of the 57 first-round quarterbacks since 2006 who began video games their rookie season, seven began fewer than 5 — JaMarcus Russell, Johnny Manziel, Paxton Lynch, Patrick Mahomes, Anthony Richardson Sr, Michael Penix Jr. and Trey Lance.
That leaves 50 of the 61 quarterbacks who went off the board within the first spherical within the final 20 drafts had been thrown into the combo of their first season.
Some across the league consider No. 3, the place the Cardinals at present sit, is simply too excessive for Arizona to draft Simpson, who began simply 15 video games at Alabama. Others consider the Cardinals might commerce down or again into the primary spherical to seize Simpson, with whom Arizona has been impressed for months. A supply first advised ESPN in December that the Cardinals appreciated Simpson.
When Cardinals basic supervisor Monti Ossenfort evaluates quarterbacks, he stated two of a very powerful traits he seems to be for are accuracy and resolution making.
Simpson’s accuracy and decision-making fluctuated final season.
His numbers dipped within the second half of the season, going from an 82 Complete QBR, 21-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio and a 67% completion share within the first 9 video games to a 64 Complete QBR, 7-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio and 60% in his final six video games.
And Simpson’s six fumbles misplaced final season had been essentially the most by any participant within the Soccer Bowl Subdivision in 2025. He additionally had at the very least one turnover in 9 of his final 11 video games. Simpson took 28 sacks final season, which was tied for one hundred and fifteenth most in FBS.
Simpson had a catchable move share final season of 78.9, and 11.2% of his passes had been astray. His time to focus on common was 2.9 seconds in 2025, which was ranked one hundred and tenth.
“It is as much as us to essentially take a look at these guys and venture how they are going to translate to our league,” Ossenfort stated. “And, so, yearly’s totally different, and we definitely did our share of analysis on the quarterbacks on this yr’s draft.”
Simpson’s expertise has been a subject main into the draft, as effectively.
He began one season for Alabama, tallying simply 15 begins, which might be the fourth-fewest begins by a first-round decide within the final 25 seasons.
“I believe with that, you bought to take a look at the explanations for that,” Ossenfort stated. “And, I believe, hey, pay attention, there’s benefits to time on process. There may be. There actually is. And so I believe you bought to take a look at why. Why is there not as huge of a physique of labor? After which in the end you are going to consider the tape.
“Some guys are going to have extra. Some guys’ tape seems to be higher than others. So, I believe that is simply one other piece of that analysis course of. So, I believe you simply bought to go together with what you might have. And with some guys, there’s much less and a few guys there’s extra and simply determining why precisely that’s.”
However, Ossenfort stated, making an attempt to find out if a participant — no matter what number of begins they’ve – can be a great match for a staff, for an offense and for a locker room, is an artwork.
“After we’re scouting free company, you are scouting apples to apples,” Ossenfort stated. “And, so, you are watching guys play towards NFL gamers. I believe the artwork of faculty scouting is you are taking guys from totally different ranges of competitors, coming from totally different schemes, coming from a distinct discipline. Quite a lot of issues are totally different from school and now you are making an attempt to venture how that’s going to look, not just for our scheme, such as you’re referring to, and the way Mike needs to run issues and the way he needs issues to run, however now you are saying, ‘How’s that going to work in a distinct sport, the faculty sport to the NFL sport?’
“So, that is all the time been a problem of faculty scouting. That is why each draft decide would not all the time pan out and that is why there is a problem to that.”
