Morning Coffee: Will Alabama’s Simpson be a first round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft?

Leafs Nation has slammed the panic button once again.

This time, it has nothing to do with a Game 7 meltdown.

Exactly one year ago, Toronto Maple Leafs fans genuinely believed their roster was built to win the Stanley Cup.

Even after they got bounced by the Florida Panthers in Game 7 in the second round, the city of Toronto was still floating in the hazy “what if” fog that comes with falling just short against the eventual Stanley Cup champions.

If they had just beat the Panthers, maybe they would have gone on to win it all.

Sure, maybe they would have.

Fast-forward one year later, and instead of preparing for a postseason run, Leafs Nation is suddenly panicking about a franchise that seems miles away from playoff hockey.

Many of the same believers who were dreaming of a Stanley Cup a year ago spent the final week of the regular season cheering on a five-game losing slide that left Toronto in the bottom five in the NHL.

Locking up their top five pick in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft was a win for the Maple Leafs, but the recent reports about the dynamics inside their front office are suddenly all anybody in Toronto wants to discuss.

Like several other teams that ultimately fell short this season, the Maple Leafs have a good mix of talent – just not necessarily the right mix of talent, and too many key holes that need to be fixed.

Before Leafs Nation can turn its attention to the NHL Entry Draft, they need to be convinced that the franchise has found a general manager that can build a winner.

The buzz around the Leafs GM search is deafening.

Good luck to whoever it is that ultimately lands the job.

Meanwhile, the NBA’s Toronto Raptors are expected to be one-and-done this postseason as a +360 underdog for their first round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Toronto Blue Jays need a win over the Milwaukee Brewers tonight to avoid their fifth straight series loss.

There isn’t much room for optimism in Toronto outside of the arrival of the Tempo – Canada’s first WNBA team.

As the Maple Leafs search for their next GM continues, I’ve tried to tune out all the noise as my focus shifts to the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the NFL Draft next week.

We’re seven days out from the NFL Draft, and outside of the first overall pick, there’s still plenty of questions that need to be answered.

Fernando Mendoza to the Las Vegas Raiders at No. 1 is sitting at -20000 at FanDuel - a 99.5 per cent implied probability.

How many other quarterbacks hear their name called in the first round of the NFL Draft?

How many other quarterbacks will be selected in the first round?

Let’s dive into that question and lock in another FanDuel Best Bet for the NFL Draft in this Morning Coffee column for Thursday April 16^th, 2026.

Will Alabama’s Ty Simpson Be A First Round Pick In The 2026 NFL Draft?

The Las Vegas Raiders are one of several NFL teams that entered this offseason desperate for a franchise QB.

Now they’ve got the first overall pick and the right to select Mendoza, plus a new head coach in Kint Kubiak.

That combination has injected a level of optimism into the Raiders outlook that has not existed since the franchise arrived in Las Vegas.

Unfortunately for the other teams that need a QB, most notable NFL mock drafts don’t have another quarterback selected in the first round.

NFL Media Analyst Daniel Jeremiah’s latest mock draft has Mendoza as the only QB selected in round one.

ESPN’s Peter Schrager also has Mendoza as the only quarterback selected in the first round.

Then there’s NFL Media Analyst Charles Davis, who has Alabama QB Ty Simpson being selected third overall by the Arizona Cardinals in his latest mock draft.

However, Davis noted, “I think Simpson ends up with the Cardinals, even if this (No. 3 overall) is not the spot where they pick him.”

FanDuel has a market up for the team that will ultimately draft Simpson, who is widely considered the second-best QB prospect available in this NFL Draft.

FanDuel lists the Cardinals as the favourite at +130.

The New York Jets, which own the second overall pick and 16^th overall pick, along with two second round picks, are the second choice to be the team that drafts Simpson at +210 odds.

The Los Angeles Rams, which own the 13^th overall pick, are the third choice to draft Simpson at +600.

Then there’s the Pittsburgh Steelers, which own the 21^st overall pick, sitting at +750 to draft Simpson.

No other team is shorter than +1500 to draft Simpson.

While Mendoza is widely considered a lock to go first overall, many prominent NFL analysts including Jeremiah have wondered whether Simpson deserves a first-round draft grade.

However, even if he doesn’t, there are plenty of scenarios where a team that is desperate for a long-term solution at the position reaches to select the second-best QB prospect in the NFL Draft in the first round.

Simpson to be a first-round pick is -135 at FanDuel.

While his ceiling can be debated, the combination of his potential and a severe scarcity at the position makes it that much more likely that a team is willing to take a chance on him at some point in the first round.

The Cardinals might not be willing to take him third overall, but is it possible they could trade out of the pick, add more draft capital, and ultimately land Simpson?

What about if they put together a package involving their second-round pick that allows them to move back into the first round and select their QB of the future?

The Jets might not be inclined to draft Simpson second overall or 16^th overall, but they also have a pair of second round picks that they can use to trade up if the second-best QB prospect in this NFL Draft is still available at the end of the first round.

The Rams eventually need to find a successor to Matthew Stafford, although they may be more inclined to use their picks to add to a roster that is built to win now.

Pittsburgh could run it back with Aaron Rodgers.

The Steelers could commit to the development of 2025 sixth-round pick Will Howard behind Rodgers, then revisit the position in the 2027 NFL Draft.

Regardless of which team selects him, it’s more likely than not that one of the several franchises in need of help at the position find a way to get him in round one.

The Jets, Cardinals, Cleveland Browns, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings and Atlanta Falcons are all looking for a franchise quarterback, even if teams like Cleveland and Miami already have some options to consider in-house.

Then there’s the Rams, Steelers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Carolina Panthers, which could all be in the market for a franchise quarterback as early as next spring depending on how things play out in 2026.

Is one of those teams willing to roll the dice on Simpson?

Will the scarcity at the QB position force one of them to select Simpson earlier than most would expect?

I’m willing to add Simpson to be drafted in the first round at -135 to my card at FanDuel.

Seven days out, we won’t have to wait much longer to find out where Simpson will land in the 2026 NFL Draft.

I can’t wait to see what happens in Pittsburgh.

Have a great day, everyone!