{"id":856744,"date":"2026-04-06T11:26:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T11:26:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/856744\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T11:26:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T11:26:15","slug":"ty-simpson-should-not-be-the-jets-top-qb-option-in-2026-nfl-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/856744\/","title":{"rendered":"Ty Simpson should not be the Jets’ top QB option in 2026 NFL Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

If the internet is to be believed \u2014 and, come on, when is the internet wrong? \u2014 then Indiana\u2019s Fernando Mendoza and Alabama\u2019s Ty Simpson<\/a> will be the first two quarterbacks selected in the 2026 NFL Draft.<\/p>\n

Barring one of the most shocking trades involving a No. 1 pick that we\u2019ll see in our lifetime, the New York Jets<\/a> won\u2019t have a chance to take Mendoza. For all intents and purposes, he belongs to the Raiders.<\/p>\n

Simpson, meanwhile, is ESPN\u2019s new favorite quarterback. Naturally, if you\u2019re a topic of discussion on \u201cFirst Take,\u201d that means you\u2019re likely a common target of the Jets<\/a> in mock drafts.<\/p>\n

Whether Simpson will go within the top 20 picks or early in the second round, though, remains to be seen. Rather than take the risk on Simpson, I personally would rather the Jets hold off and gamble on Miami\u2019s Carson Beck.<\/a><\/p>\n

What to know about Miami quarterback Carson Beck<\/p>\n

If it feels like Beck was in college forever, you\u2019re not misremembering things. The 6-foot-5, 233-pound Beck debuted at Georgia in 2020, stuck around despite the rising popularity of the transfer portal, and finally got his chance in 2023. After two years leading the Bulldogs, Beck ended his college career at Miami<\/a> and led the Hurricanes to the national championship game.<\/p>\n

In some ways, Beck is a throwback to a seemingly forgotten age of quarterbacks. What Beck lacks in speed and playmaking ability as a rusher, he more than makes up for in arm strength and vision in the pocket.<\/p>\n

The problem, as NFL Media\u2019s Lance Zierlein noted in a pre-draft scouting report, is possible after-effects from 2024 right elbow surgery. Zierlein said that Beck\u2019s arm talent and velocity appeared \u201cdiminished\u201d last season, though he nonetheless posted a 72.4% completion percentage, 3,813 yards, and a 30-12 TD-INT ratio.<\/p>\n

However, those numbers are slightly inflated because, unlike in the NFL, postseason numbers count toward a player\u2019s overall stats. Beck\u2019s passing yardage might look high, but his 238.3 yards per game was his lowest in three years as a starter.<\/p>\n

Although Beck\u2019s yards per attempt rose from 7.8 to 8.2, it was still down from the 9.5 YPA he posted two years earlier.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeck\u2019s decision-making showed more maturity in his final college season, but pressure can pull him back into old habits,\u201d Zierlein wrote<\/a>. \u201cHe spins a catchable ball with a compact release, but spotty accuracy leads to pass breakups and a lower conversion rate on tight-window throws.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the issues, Carson Beck makes too much sense for the Jets<\/p>\n

My most significant issue with Simpson is the lack of experience. He only started 15 games at Alabama, and forcing a draft pick<\/a> on a quarterback with a limited sample size is extremely dangerous, even if they\u2019ll be sitting as a rookie.<\/p>\n

Beck and Simpson both turn 24 next fall, so neither exactly has age working in their favor. Considering the Jets\u2019 many needs, it might make more sense to use their first four selections<\/a> on skill players and circle back to quarterback either in the third round or on Day 3.<\/p>\n

Unless disaster strikes, Geno Smith is going to start in Week 1. Aaron Glenn recently said<\/a> as much, not that there should have been any confusion.<\/p>\n

Given the situation and context, the safest play is for the Jets to draft Beck and hope his heavy college workload helps him develop at the pro level. Admittedly, it\u2019s not the most attractive move, but the Jets don\u2019t need to be splashy, especially not as they hope to end their latest rebuild.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If the internet is to be believed \u2014 and, come on, when is the internet wrong? \u2014 then…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":856745,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2051],"tags":[7,226,1917,255,2321,2097,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-856744","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-jets","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-jets","10":"tag-new-york","11":"tag-new-york-jets","12":"tag-newyork","13":"tag-newyorkjets","14":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116357523239516126","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/856744","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=856744"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/856744\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/856745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=856744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=856744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=856744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}