The Pittsburgh Steelers hold the 21st pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, and what they do with that pick is anyone's guess. There has been a lot of talk about the Steelers potentially using their first-round pick on Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson if he's still on the board at that point.
Simpson surprised some people by leaving the Crimson Tide after just a year of starting, but even so, the chances of him being drafted in the first round seem quite high. Dan Orlovsky is so big on him that he thinks he's a better quarterback prospect than Fernando Mendoza, who has been the unquestioned number one overall pick for months now.
When asked about Orlovsky's comments on Simpson, Mel Kiper Jr. said there's one glaring issue when it comes to Simpson's game. It's something that the Steelers front office is surely aware of and will factor in if Simpson ends up being the guy they want to take 21st overall.
"You think about the experience...Fifteen starts is a dangerous, risky number for Ty Simpson.
You know the seven, eight quarterbacks that had below 20 starts, and look how they fared, not well. So again, that's a risky number," Kiper said on The Dan Patrick Show.
"We'll see how it plays out for Ty Simpson... You need to have a chance to transition to the NFL. Another year at Alabama, I think, would have helped him."
Mel Kiper Jr. has a warning for the Pittsburgh Steelers if they draft Alabama QB Ty Simpson
This is definitely something that needs to be considered with Simpson. He had just 15 starts in college, compared to Mendoza's 35. That's a huge difference in experience.
If Simpson is thrown to the wolves right away, he might simply not be ready for what's coming because he didn't have enough time at the collegiate level to learn from his mistakes. Now, for what it's worth, the Steelers might not start Simpson right away if he were who they drafted. If Will Howard and Mason Rudolph were the other guys at the position, it'd probably be one of them, starting with Simpson learning from the sidelines.
If Aaron Rodgers were to come back, then Simpson definitely wouldn't start. Either way, he's probably not the quarterback plan for 2026, which makes this red flag a little less daunting for the Steelers.
It's still something to keep in mind though. Simpson isn't super experienced as a starting quarterback and that should be a terrifying thought for anyone considering drafting him and making him their next franchise signal-caller.