Alabama draft prospect Ty Simpson has been linked to the Browns.
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Alabama draft prospect Ty Simpson has been linked to the Browns.
The Cleveland Browns have been tied to Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson ahead of the draft. However, the team’s top coaches and executives were not present for Simpson’s Pro Day on Wednesday.
Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reported that head coach Todd Monken and general manager Andrew Berry were not in attendance to watch the Crimson Tide passer up close.
That said, the Browns have already hosted Simpson and Alabama wide receiver Germie Bernard for Top 30 visits. The team could also bring them back in for private workouts if they see fit. Simpson has been open in his admiration for Cleveland and Monken.
Simpson enters the draft as one of the more intriguing quarterback prospects in his class, coming off his first full season as a starter at Alabama. The redshirt junior threw for 3,567 yards, 28 touchdowns, and just five interceptions across 15 games while completing about 64.5% of his passes and posting a 145.2 passer rating.
“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.”
Alabama Coach Backs Ty Simpson as Browns Target
The Browns have two first-round picks — No. 6 and 24 overall. Cleveland has 10 overall picks in this year’s draft. The Browns have Dillon Gabriel, Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson under contract for next season.
Simpson is widely regarded as the No. 2 quarterback prospect in the draft, trailing only Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza, who is widely projected to go No. 1 overall. His head coach, Kalen DeBoer, has made a strong case that Simpson could be exactly the type of quarterback the Browns have been searching for.
“Even though he hasn’t played a lot of starts, he’s been around college football at a high level. And he’s the son of a coach — a college coach. He’s done a great job. Last year, he did an excellent job of taking big steps forward in large chunks,” DeBoer said on 92.3 The Fan. “He understands the game. Not just the Xs and Os, but what the quarterback’s job is. Not just taking care of the football. It’s when to make those plays. We put a lot on his shoulders to check things. He did a great job of managing the game but also making big plays in big moments for us.”
Browns Unlikely to Select Ty Simpson
Part of the reason that the Browns may not pursue Simpson is that they have needs elsewhere. Cleveland needs some significant help at wide receiver and will likely consider an offensive lineman in the first round.
Cabot does not believe that Simpson is on the radar for the Browns in the first round. But their mindset could change if Simpson slips in the draft.
“You can never say never in this situation. Right now, I don’t think it’s going to happen. I don’t believe they’re going to draft Ty Simpson,” Cabot said. “I think he’s going to go in the first round and I don’t know if they view him that way. Now, if he slips a bit and he’s there at No. 39 or later in the draft, maybe they do that.”
If the Browns do not take Simpson, they could take a more developmental quarterback in the later rounds. Drew Allar, Carson Beck and Garrett Nussmeier have been tabbed as potential options.