Ty Simpson health update could ease Jets’ concerns ahead of the draft

In the early parts of the 2025 college football season, Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson was one of the top quarterbacks in the country. It wasn't difficult to find a mock draft that had him as the No. 1 overall pick.

As the season progressed, Simpson's play tailed off a bit, cooling his draft stock to the point where he's now considered a mid-to-late first-round pick, or on some analysts' boards, a Day 2 guy.

The Crimson Tide quarterback enters the 2026 Scouting Combine hoping to bump that stock back up and impress quarterback-needy teams like the New York Jets in his interviews and workouts, and he's already gotten off to a great start with the development of his weigh-in.

Potential Jets target Ty Simpson weighs in higher than expected at Scouting Combine

Leading into the Rose Bowl, where Alabama lost to the eventual national champion Indiana Hoosiers, Simpson weighed in at about 190 pounds due to a severe case of gastritis, per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.

Weighing in at the combine, Simpson is back to about 215 pounds, a sigh of relief for him and his camp. One of the quarterback's biggest flaws is his frame, and getting that weight back up was an important benchmark in the pre-draft process.

Despite dealing with a subpar supporting cast and injuries throughout his 2025 season, Simpson still put together a solid run for the Crimson Tide in his lone starting season. He completed 64.5% of his passes for 3,567 yards, to go along with 28 touchdowns and five interceptions.

With Fernando Mendoza, the presumptive No. 1 overall pick to the Las Vegas Raiders, Simpson is being eyed as the second-best quarterback in the draft, and someone the Jets will certainly keep tabs on in the weeks and months leading into April's draft.

The question remains, how high will Simpson go? And to what team?

"Who exactly is going to take him in Round 1? Remember, there are a couple of teams with multiple first-round draft picks. The Jets are one, the Rams, even with Matthew Stafford, are one. But needing a long-term plan, those are a couple of the teams that potentially could be of interest not just in the first round but in the top half of the first round."

Tom Pelissero

Considering their massive need, the Jets will be linked to any and all quarterbacks in both the draft and veteran market. Simpson is just another name to add to the list.