ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr. made waves during the 2025 NFL Draft by vehemently defending Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders and blasting critics and NFL organizations as Sanders slid to the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round (144th overall pick). Now, Kiper is backing Sanders in comparison to quarterback prospects in the 2026 NFL Draft.

During Thursday’s edition of ESPN’s First Draft, co-host Field Yates mentioned the Browns — who have picks at No. 6, 24, and 39 — as a team that should be evaluating Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson for the 2026 draft, and Kiper didn’t like that suggestion.

“The Jets have to be figuring out Ty Simpson,” Kiper said. “The Steelers have to figure out Ty Simpson. And certainly Arizona does if they want to try to trade back in and get him.”

“The Browns as well,” Yates responded. “The Browns, by the way, need to try to figure out Ty Simpson as well.”

“The Browns don’t have to worry about Ty Simpson,” Kiper interjected, with a clear disagreement in his tone. “They have a better quarterback than Ty Simpson in Shedeur Sanders. Don’t go there.”

Mel Kiper Jr. on potential Ty Simpson teams:

“The #Browns don’t have to worry about Ty Simpson. They got a better QB than Ty Simpson in Shedeur Sanders. Don’t go there.”

(via ‘First Draft’ on ESPN) pic.twitter.com/h5JocKeSRT

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) March 26, 2026

Simpson has been considered by most draft evaluators to be the second-best quarterback in this year’s class, but not if you ask ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky, who has spent the last few weeks trying to convince everyone that Simpson is a better prospect than surefire No. 1 overall Fernando Mendoza. ESPN analyst and former NFL general manager Mike Tannenbaum supported Orlovsky, claiming, “In talking to clubs this opinion is shared by other teams as well.”

Kiper expressed skepticism over that claim (as did NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah), saying on Tuesday’s edition of First Take, “Yeah, that’s not shared by anybody I’ve spoken to. Fernando Mendoza is at one on my board, and Ty Simpson is at 25.”

“Yeah, that’s not shared by anybody I’ve spoken to.”

—@MelKiperESPN responded to @RealTannenbaum concerning Ty Simpson in the 2026 NFL Draft ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/WZRFspE7cj

— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) March 24, 2026

That assessment goes with the general draft community view of Mendoza and Simpson, but clearly, Kiper still thinks Sanders — Kiper’s top quarterback of last year’s class and No. 5 overall on his 2025 Big Board — is a level above what would be viewed as the No. 25 overall prospect in this draft.

And that’s an assessment that many NFL and draft evaluators would question.

Sanders threw seven touchdown passes, 10 interceptions, and put together a 68.1 passer rating that ranked 49th among 50 NFL quarterbacks in his rookie season with Cleveland.

That didn’t lead to any doubt in Sanders’ abilities from Kiper, however. In a January edition of First Draft, alongside Yates and Mike Greenberg, Kiper had a passionate defense of Sanders’ rookie season.

“What the hell has he got to do? Are we going to get into this negativity again about Shedeur?” Kiper asked. “I don’t know what else the kid needs to do. Josh Allen had haters in year three, so if Josh Allen has haters in year two and three of his career, there’s no way Sheduer can avoid it.”

Nearly a year has passed since Kiper’s legendary draft rants, but he’ll still get heated if you suggest that Sanders might not be the Browns’ long-term answer at quarterback. It will be fascinating to see if anybody at the ESPN desk is willing to bring up Sanders, potentially on the topic of Simpson, to Kiper during the 2026 NFL Draft coverage.