Some analysts like Mel Kiper Jr. advise the New York Jets to choose the ex-Alabama star, Ty Simpson, as their No.16th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft; however, an ESPN insider, Rich Cimini, didn’t agree with the idea.
The ESPN analyst shared his thoughts on the Jets possibly picking Simpson as their No. 16th overall pick and disagreed with Mel Kiper Jr.’s idea, as he believes the franchise requires better wide receivers, a position that can be filled with a good player at that draft spot.
Cimini revealed that he would only be okay with Simpson going as the No.16th overall pick if the Jets come up with a plan to fill the wide receiver position later in the draft.
The insider also shared that he believes some better players can fill the first-round spot, like Makai Lemon instead of Simpson.
“You’re probably doing to doing it to prevent another team from grabbing him, which is not how you want to be in the draft. How you want to be in the draft is you want to be able to just grab the best player at the pick that you’re at.”
“And so, look, at the end of the day, if Ty Simpson ends up being a good quarterback way down the road, and we won’t know that for two, three, four years maybe, um, then nobody complains about where you took them. But with where the state of the franchise is at right now, where their picks are at, what their needs are, I’m just surprised that this was the pick that Mel Kiper made with the other players available on the board.”
Ty Simpson Exudes Confidence Ahead of 2026 NFL Draft
While many players are choosing money over the NFL in the current college football scene, Ty Simpson was one of the few individuals who successfully rejected massive cheques offering him to play another year and chose to declare for the NFL Draft.
Simpson has shared many times that Saban’s pitch to recruit him was that Alabama is a great place to develop and transition to the league, which was the ex-Crimson Tide star’s dream.
Talking about being ready to be a franchise quarterback and potentially going to the Jets, Simpson said:
“Just talking ball, getting to know each other, Coach [Aaron] Glenn is a super, juiceful guy. Just getting on the board is really what I like.”
“I really love the Jets, really blessed to have a meeting with them, and if I have the opportunity to play in New York – they’re going to get the best Ty Simpson they can get.” Simpson said on 28th February.
Simpson spent 4 seasons at Alabama and led the team as the starting quarterback for just one season, in which he secured 3,567 throwing yards along with 28 touchdowns against 5 interceptions.
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