The Pittsburgh Steelers have been looking for their next franchise quarterback since Ben Roethlisberger retired. They took a swing on Kenny Pickett in the first round of the 2022 draft, but that didn’t work out. The Steelers haven’t spent a first-round pick on a quarterback since then, and some analysts don’t believe that should change this year. The 2026 quarterback class looks weak. However, draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. made the case for the Steelers to spend their first-round pick on Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson.
“I think Pittsburgh with [Mike] McCarthy coming in is gonna be really interesting,” Kiper said Monday on the First Draft podcast. “It depends on what you see with Ty Simpson. If you watched him up until mid-October, 21 touchdowns only one interception over the first nine games. Then he has that seven-game period where he had five fumbles lost. Last six games, seven touchdowns, but four interceptions.
“But if you looked at him over those first nine games, getting the ball out, he was letting it rip. There’s a lot to like. You say, ‘He’s only had 15 starts.’ But he’s 23 years of age. Get him, be patient, have somebody else there that can be that bridge quarterback. You have plenty of evidence about this kid being worthy of being a top 10-15 pick. Certainly, being there at 21 would make a lot of sense for the Pittsburgh Steelers.”
Simpson is widely viewed as the second-best quarterback in this draft, with Indiana’s Fernando Mendonza as the clear-cut No. 1 prospect. That speaks to the shaky depth that this crop of quarterbacks has.
There’s a lot of risk associated with Simpson. He played at Alabama from 2022-2025, his entire collegiate career. However, 2025 was his first season starting, and he only had 50 career pass attempts before that. While there’s risk in drafting any quarterback, Simpson’s small sample size makes him particularly tricky to evaluate.
Also, as Kiper explains, Simpson’s 2025 season was a mixed bag. He threw for 3,567 yards, 28 touchdowns, and five interceptions in 15 games. However, he struggled near the end of the season with Alabama getting blown out by Indiana in the playoffs.
Simpson only had 523 career pass attempts in college. The last quarterback to be drafted in the first round with fewer than 600 pass attempts was Anthony Richardson. Selected by the Indianapolis Colts with the fourth pick in the 2023 draft, he was a boom-or-bust prospect, and he had even more upside than Simpson.
However, Richardson hasn’t panned out. His lack of experience has been evident, and he’s struggled to stay healthy. That led to him losing the starting job before the 2025 season. Now, after only three seasons, Richardson’s future with the Colts is murky.
Granted, Richardson had even less experience than Simpson with 393 pass attempts in college. The point still stands, though. Yes, the Steelers could have Simpson sit behind a veteran like Aaron Rodgers for his rookie season. However, that would likely lead to them missing out on what looks like a stacked quarterback class in 2027.
The Steelers need to hit big the next time they draft a quarterback in the first round. Nine good games shouldn’t be enough for them to trust Simpson with the keys to their franchise.
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