If NFL quarterback coaches wanted to show young passers video footage of flawless footwork and mechanics at the position, they’d circulate Simpson’s early-season work from last fall around the youth football world. The Alabama quarterback looked like a coach’s dream during this period, as a pinpoint, touch passer with outstanding instincts, awareness and diagnostic skills. Simpson made countless layered throws over second-level defenders, successfully attacking the sweet spots of coverage. While those flashes from his sole season as the Crimson Tide’s starter are compelling — as is the QB’s pedigree, being the son of a longtime college football head coach — Simpson’s lack of experience (15 total college starts) and late-season slump have spawned concern. Factor in the kind of substandard physical dimensions (6-foot-1 1/8, 211 pounds) that induce durability worries, and this is a draft profile that invites polarization. Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza is essentially a lock to go No. 1 overall to the Las Vegas Raiders. But Simpson, widely considered this draft’s QB2, has a broad draft range. He might be a first-round pick, though it wouldn’t be shocking to see him fall into the draft’s second day.
