Fornelli 2026 NFL mock draft 4.0: Chiefs trade up to address pass rush

I feel bad for Ty Simpson.

If you missed it last week, the Alabama quarterback became part of The Discourse in the NFL Draft Content Machine. This fact, more than anything else, is the biggest symptom of the lack of juice surrounding the lead-up to this spring's draft.

We all know who the first pick will be, and after that, it's a class full of players who are intriguing, but there aren't any no-doubt superstars that teams are dying to get their hands on. And when that happens, well, there's time to fill, and somebody has to fill it.

Enter Simpson, who is suddenly maybe better than the guy everybody has had going first overall for months now? This is not to say the opinions are disingenuous (though they could be!). There's never a consensus among scouts and pundits when it comes to ranking players based on their talent and projections in any sport, not just football. There are definitely people out there who believe Simpson is better than Fernando Mendoza. You'll find people who think Garrett Nussmeier, Drew Allar, or Carson Beck are better than both. Hell, somebody out there thinks we're all sleeping on Cole Payton.

But Simpson has been chosen to be the lightning rod. So no matter what happens to him in the NFL Draft (he could go in the first round, he could wait a few days), he will be talked about. My advice to Ty is, if you get extended a green room invite, stay home with the family, big dog. The invite is more for them than for you.