Ty Simpson Has 3 Visits Scheduled Ahead Of The NFL Draft

The Las Vegas Raiders are widely expected to take Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 pick on Thursday, April 23. After the Heisman Trophy winner, Simpson may be the only other quarterback with a chance of garnering a Day 1 nod.

The Jets (No. 2), Cardinals (No. 3), Browns (No. 6), and Dolphins (No. 12) may not reach for Simpson early in the first round, but they could each have another opportunity.

New York picks again at No. 16 before opening the first round at No. 33. The Browns and Dolphins also possess the No. 24 and 30 selections, respectively, on Thursday.

Although the Cardinals only wield one first-round pick, they hold the No. 34 selection following a 3-14 season. ESPN's Jordan Reid predicted that Arizona would trade up to pick No. 28 to take Simpson after cutting Kyler Murray.

"Simpson is a perfect fit in new coach Mike LaFleur's offense," Reid wrote in a mock draft earlier this month. "Simpson operates well off play-action but makes his best throws in the short and intermediate areas. His lack of starting experience (15 starts) makes him a bit of a risk here, but Arizona still has veteran Jacoby Brissett for another year to serve as a bridge until Simpson is ready to be the QB1."

Reid more recently gave Simpson a 75 percent chance of hearing his name called in the opening round. Field Yates, who co-opted his colleague's suggestion of the Cardinals moving into the first round for Simpson, went even further with a 90 percent probability.

"Simpson is the clear-cut second-best QB prospect," Yates wrote. "His first half of last season was far too strong and there are too many teams that need a QB in the first round for him to not be selected on Thusrday."

Arizona isn't the only potential fit. Cleveland could go back to the drawing board after drafting Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders last year, but ESPN's Adam Schefter predicted that the Browns wouldn't use either first-round pick on a quarterback.

Although the Dolphins signed Malik Willis to a three-year, $67.5 million contract after releasing Tua Tagovailoa, they could still welcome some competition in a new-look quarterback room.