Ty Simpson isn’t the right fit for the Jets—but it's not his fault

Pinch me if you've heard this one before, but the New York Jets need a quarterback. Yeah, they traded for Geno Smith this offseason, but he's clearly just a bridge to whoever the Jets eventually draft to be their franchise signal caller.

The options are slim in the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft. Fernando Mendoza is practically wearing the Silver & Black already, and there's no other highly-rated QB prospect worth the No. 2 overall pick.

That leaves Alabama's Ty Simpson as the next best choice, though he's considered to be a fringe first-rounder to early Day 2 prospect. Given the Jets' need for a quarterback, it makes sense that so many mock drafts have New York taking him at No. 16 or No. 33.

But taking a prospect like Simpson doesn't make sense for the Jets for one major reason, and none of them are necessarily his fault.

Ty Simpson doesn't line up with the Jets 2026 timeline

The Athletic's Dane Brugler released his 2026 iteration of The Beast, an all-encompassing draft guide featuring analysis of 2,700 prospects in the incoming class. Simpson is rated as the second-best quarterback, as to be expected, but Brugler's takeaway perfectly outlines why the Jets can't select him.

"Simpson has the command and process of an NFL quarterback, but he needs valuable experience to be more efficient in his reads, and to better understand what is open and what isn’t. He projects as a low-level NFL starter, with the ceiling of a mid-level starter and floor of a backup (reminiscent of Daniel Jones with lesser physical traits)."

Dane Brugler

Brugler clearly states that while Simpson has certain traits that could make him a successful NFL quarterback, the biggest thing he needs is experience. The only way he's going to get that is if he gets reps, and that's not something the Jets can afford to give him in 2026.

Geno Smith is the Jets' Week 1 starter, and Aaron Glenn made that pretty clear. New York is going to do everything in their power to put a winning product on the field next season; the head coach's job depends on it.

The only way Simpson sees the field next year is if the Jets are out of the playoff race by Halloween, and there's nothing left to play for the rest of the season. If things get that bad, there's a real good chance Glenn doesn't even finish the season at the helm in New York.

Even if Simpson has a decent showing as a rookie, it doesn't change the fact that the Jets would be bringing in a new head coach in 2027, armed with three first-round picks in the first round of that draft. Wouldn't a new coach want his own guy under center, and not the regime's old draft pick?

The Jets can't guarantee Simpson developmental reps in 2026, and they're better off investing that draft pick into a player who has a chance of making an impact right away to help the team win.

It's not the Alabama quarterback's fault, but his timeline just doesn't fit the Jets right now. He's better off in the long-term going to a team with an infrastructure that's not at risk of being reset within the year.