Mel Kiper Jr. explains why Ty Simpson is a first-round pick, compares him to former Alabama star
By Mark Kern
Published:
The NFL Combine is currently underway in Indianapolis, and NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. is on scene. All of the top prospects in college football are in attendance trying to show the GMs and coaches that they have what it takes to be a part of their organization and help them achieve the ultimate goal of winning the Super Bowl.
As is the case every year, the quarterback position is one of the most heavily discussed. Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza figures to be the No. 1 pick to the Las Vegas Raiders, but the rest of the class is a question mark. Ty Simpson is also looked at as a top quarterback in the class, and Kiper believes he is a first-round guy who has similarities to another Alabama quarterback, Mac Jones.
“Ty’s a faster, more athletic Mac Jones. … If you saw him up til mid-November, you thought high, if you saw him later, you said ‘eh, is he even a first-round pick’ right,” Kiper said on ESPN’s Get Up on Tuesday. “He was a little banged up. He took that hit from D’Angelo Ponds (of Indiana in the Rose Bowl) preventing him from going to the Senior Bowl. A little bit of weight loss. You think about before November 15th — 22 touchdown passes, 2 picks.”
Simpson struggled at the end of the season, but it was recently reported that he was dealing with an illness that made him lose a significant amount of weight at the end of the year.
Another area that Kiper said hurt Simpson is that he wasn’t getting a lot of help.
“He wasn’t getting any help from the O-line. He wasn’t getting any help from dropped passes by receivers,” Kiper said. “The running game was non-existent. It didn’t exist. … He had to carry the load. He had to put that team on his shoulders, on his back. … I’m not saying he’s elite. He’s not one of those top-5 guys in terms of grade, but when you’re at 21 and you’re the Pittsburgh Steelers, it would make an awful lot of sense.”
