The Arizona Cardinals have a future and present need at quarterback in 2026. While they have Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew on the roster, they do not represent any sort of future at the position and, with a 37-75 combined record as starters, they also don’t represent any sort of present if you want to be a competitive, winning team.

The way to solve that is to draft a high-end quarterback prospect, and the player who fits that profile in the upcoming 2026 NFL draft is Alabama’s Ty Simpson.

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Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza will go first overall to the Las Vegas Raiders. That goes without saying at this point.

However, if the Cardinals want Simpson, it puts them in a tricky situation. ESPN’s Adam Schefter said on the Pat McAfee Show that Simpson won’t make it to the second round, where the Cardinals have the 34th overall pick and second selection of Day 2.

“The one thing that I can say confidently right now, talking to the front offices, is that I believe Ty Simpson will be a first-round draft pick,” he told McAfee. “That’s all I’m comfortable saying right now.”

If this is the case, then the Cardinals have three ways to get him.

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Reach for Simpson

The Cardinals could go all in with the “quarterback tax” and take him third overall, passing on other high-end talent at tackle or on the defensive edge.

While quarterbacks often go overdrafted, this would come across as perhaps the reach of the draft, unless of course he pans out.

Selecting him third overall would seem crazy.

Trade back to draft him

The Cardinals could also make him their top priority by trading back from the third overall pick. That way, they would get Simpson and have more selections to use now and perhaps in future drafts to add talent.

Perhaps the perfect scenario would be if the Dallas Cowboys wanted to move up to No. 3 overall. They have two first -round selections, No. 12 and No. 20. The Cardinals would be able to both get Simpson and another top talent.

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Trade back up into Round 1

The Cardinals have the second pick of the second round. The question is how high they would have to trade up to land Simpson. Trading up would cost current and future draft picks, something general manager Monti Ossenfort isn’t known for doing.

But when it comes to getting your quarterback of the future, what other option do they have? If they are too patient, they miss out, and then fans are left with the hope of maybe being bad enough to get a top QB prospect in 2027, but that means watching bad football.

Which scenario is the best one for the Cardinals?

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

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This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: 2026 NFL draft: 3 options for Arizona Cardinals to land QB Ty Simpson