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Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson reacting in the middle of a college football game.

Furiously shakes the Magic 8 Ball.

Will the New York Jets select Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson with the No. 16 overall pick in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft?

“No,” a source inside their scouting department said to ESPN’s Matt Miller when he asked if Simpson is even in consideration at that point in the draft.

The team certainly isn’t considering it with the No. 2 overall pick either. That selection seems to be reserved for the top defender on the board. Depending on who you ask, you may get a different answer to that question.

Will They Get Another Shot?

The Jets have four picks inside the top-44 of this class. A pair of first rounders (No. 2 and No. 16 overall) and a pair of second rounders (No. 33 and No. 44 overall).

If the Jets say no to Simpson at No. 16 overall, then what they’re really saying or risking is saying no to Simpson at all. Because if you really wanted him, you wouldn’t risk possibly losing him to another team, you would just pull the trigger in the middle of the first round.

There is a chance that he falls to the first pick of the second round. At that point, Miller wrote the team could “reconsider” their stance on the player.

However, a popular mock draft prediction has included the Arizona Cardinals trading back into the first round to grab Simpson, which, in theory, is to snipe the Jets.

ESPN’s Peter Schrager predicted that exact scenario in his final mock draft.

“I took you all the way to the last pick of the mock draft, but yes, I have Simpson going in Round 1. To move back two spots, the Seahawks would happily add a sixth-round pick in a year when they have only four total selections. And the Cardinals would happily give up that late-rounder to (a) get Simpson and (b) get him with a fifth-year option. Simpson is slated to be in the green room at the draft, and though it might be a long night, I think he will come off the board on Day 1,” Schrager wrote.

Another Potential QB Decision for the Jets?

After making those four picks inside the top-44, the Jets don’t pick again until No. 103 overall in the fourth round.

That is a sizable gap. Which means the green and white may have to make a decision that surprises people. You might have to take someone at No. 44 that probably shouldn’t go that high, but you have no choice because they might not be there at No. 103.

Who could that be?

“Interesting nugget from Jeremy [Fowler], who says QB Carson Beck is a potential mid-round sleeper for the Jets. At 6-5, Beck has the size that Frank Reich likes in a QB. Downside: He’s had INT issues. Beck may not last until mid-rounds. He could be a day 2 pick,” ESPN’s Rich Cimini wrote.

Day two of the NFL draft covers the second and third rounds. The Jets don’t have a third-round pick. So Cimini seems to be implying that Beck could be the choice at either No. 33 or No. 44 overall for the Jets.

If the Jets took Beck with either of those selections, that would be a huge reach, at least based on the consensus big board (Beck is the 100th-ranked player in the class).