The Cleveland Browns' interest in Ty Simpson is back under the microscope ahead of the NFL draft.
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The Cleveland Browns' interest in Ty Simpson is back under the microscope ahead of the NFL draft.
Just when you thought you go to sleep each night between now and the NFL draft with some level of comfort that the Cleveland Browns soon will be addressing their clear needs for depth at left tackle and wide receiver, there comes Dan Orlovsky throwing wrenches in the best-laid plans. Not that Orlovsky, an ESPN analyst who played for five teams over a 12-year NFL span, works for the Browns in any capacity, but he did get the speculation ball rolling on the future of Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson by declaring him the best quarterback in this draft.
Yes, better than Fernando Mendoza, the presumed No. 1 pick of the Raiders in a few weeks.
“I think Ty Simpson is QB1,” Orlovsky said on ESPN’s “Get Up.” “I think Ty Simpson is the best quarterback in this class. I think when you look at the body of work and what was asked of these two quarterbacks, you have to start with the question–who needed to do more to carry their football team to play well? Ty Simpson, and it’s not close between those quarterbacks.”
Browns Not Directly Linked to Ty Simpson
This came alongside a post on Twitter/X from former Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum (another ESPN talker these days), who backed the Orlovsky take by saying, “In talking to clubs this opinion is shared by other teams as well.”
Then, in appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Monday in which ESPN insider Adam Schefter was asked about Simpson and said, “The one thing that I can say confidently right now in talking to front office is that Ty Simpson is going to be be a first-round draft pick. That’s all I am comfortable saying right now.”
Again, all the Simpson talk is within the ESPN echo chamber. Maybe the network is attempting to drum up some draft drama. Or maybe Orlovsky is right (he did say much the same thing about Jaxson Dart last year).
Ty Simpson: Cleveland a ‘Dream Destination’
That does not mean, of course, that the Cleveland Browns will be the team picking Simpson, even though the team has the No. 24 pick and an obvious need for a quarterback. The Browns also have long been connected to Simpson because new head coach Todd Monken recruited him when Monken was the offensive coordinator at Georgia and has been a family friend for years.
In fact, Simpson himself was nudging the Browns toward drafting him, calling Cleveland a “dream destination,” which is not a frequently uttered thought.
Last month, he was on the “Up and Adams Show“ with Kay Adams, and Simpson was asked playing with Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate, a candidate to be the No. 6 overall pick to the Browns.
“That’s something you have to ask coach Monken and Mr. Berry,” Simpson said. “I think it would be great. They got it going on up there. Coach Monken is going to get it right, they got all the right pieces. And if I’m able to throw to Carnell it would be great. We’d always be on the same page and hopefully take the league by storm.”
Browns QB Plans Probably Unchanged
Once NFL free agency passed and the Browns had barely lifted a finger to acquire a quarterback–not Malik Willis, not Anthony Richardson, not Kyler Murray–the presumption appeared to be that the team was going with a QB competition starring Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders, with a possible mid-round addition (Drew Allar, Cade Klubnik) joining the fray.
That’s still the most probable outcome. Someone might be destined to try Ty Simpson in the first round, but unless they’re pulling a major smokescreen, it is not likely to be the Browns, who have too many other needs on hand to drop an inexperienced quarterback like Simpson into the mix.
Now, if one of the teams interested in Simpson (Arizona has been rumored) wants to move into the No. 24 spot with a trade, that might well get the Browns’ interest.