Can an Alabama passer turn the tide on the school’s quarterback reputation?
Helmet scouting isn’t fair to any draft prospect. While certain schools foster distinctions for producing quality NFL players at certain positions, generalizing a particular program for its failures to generate NFL-level talent isn’t smart evaluation.
Count Alabama passer Ty Simpson among those not buying into the narratives.
‘I feel like I’m ready, I’m a franchise quarterback,’ Simpson said on Friday at the 2026 NFL Combine.
He added: ‘Like I said, the Alabama locker room is as close to a locker room in the NFL as you can get.’
Simpson looks to become the answer for quarterback at one NFL franchise come April and beyond. The passer’s draft stock entering April is somewhat murky: some experts peg Simpson as a first-round selection, while others feel the passer can slip to Day 2 of the draft.
Regardless of where Simpson is selected, however, he’ll be the next Alabama quarterback in a line of Crimson Tide passers to take their talents from Saturdays to Sundays (and sometimes Mondays, Saturdays, Thursdays and Fridays). There hasn’t been a shortage, especially in recent seasons, of quarterbacks selected high coming out of Tuscaloosa.
But how have those passers performed? Here’s a look at a list that Simpson is looking to add to come April:
Alabama quarterbacks selected in the NFL draft
In total, there have been 17 quarterbacks drafted out of Alabama dating back to the beginning of the NFL draft, first held in 1936. That number doesn’t include Jalen Hurts, who transferred to, and was selected out of, Oklahoma in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
No quarterback from Alabama drafted since the merger (1970) has led his team to the Super Bowl, but two former Crimson Tied QBs have earned championship rings as backups.
Here’s the list of passers taken in the NFL draft since the merger in 1970:
1971: Scott Hunter, Green Bay Packers, Round 6, Pick 10 (140th overall)
1976: Richard Todd, New York Jets, Round 1, Pick 6 (sixth overall)
1979: Jeff Rutledge, Los Angeles Rams, Round 9, Pick 26 (246th overall)*
1987: Mike Shula, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Round 12, Pick 6 (313th overall)
1995: Jay Barker, Green Bay Packers, Round 5, Pick 26 (160th overall)
2006: Brodie Croyle, Kansas City Chiefs, Round 3, Pick 21 (85th overall)
2011: Greg McElroy, New York Jets, Round 7, Pick 5 (208th overall)
2014: A.J. McCarron, Cincinnati Bengals, Round 5, Pick 24 (164th overall)
2020: Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins, Round 1, Pick 5 (fifth overall)
2021: Mac Jones, New England Patriots, Round 1, Pick 15 (15th overall)
2023: Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers, Round 1, Pick 1 (first overall)
2025: Jalen Milroe, Seattle Seahawks, Round 3, Pick 2 (65th overall)**
*Rutledge won Super Bowl 21 and 26 as a member of the New York Giants and Washington.
**Milroe was a backup quarterback on the Seattle Seahawks’ Super Bowl 60 win over the New England Patriots.
Alabama quarterbacks selected in the first round of the NFL draft
While plenty of Alabama players have been selected over the years, only a select few have come at the league’s most important position, and the majority have all come within the last decade.
Here’s a quick look at players who have been taken in the first round of the NFL draft in the modern era (since 1970), with their baseline NFL passing stats:
2023: Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers (Round 1, Pick 1): Young has had an uneven NFL career, posting a 14-30 record through his first three seasons in the league. Overall, Young has thrown 49 touchdowns to 30 interceptions over 8,291 passing yards and is entering a crucial fourth season under Dave Canales’ guidance.
2021: Mac Jones, New England Patriots (Round 1, Pick 15): Jones was the fifth quarterback off the board in the 2021 NFL Draft class, following Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Trey Lance and Justin Fields. Luckily for Jones, he doesn’t have much to compete with in the way of his peers, but his NFL career has fallen short of franchise-passer expectations to this point. After showing some promise in his rookie season, Jones was traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars after his third season, and then landed with the San Francisco 49ers in Year 5, where he performed admirably in relief of an injured Brock Purdy. In all, Jones has posted a 25-32 record as a starter, with 12,741 passing yards, 67 touchdowns and 50 interceptions. At this point, Jones may not be a franchise passer, but he’s certainly a viable backup and spot-starter option in the league. That should lead to a lengthy career, health permitting.
2020: Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins (Round 1, Pick 5): Tagovailoa’s story is well-told at this point in his career. Marred by concussion issues and inconsistencies, Tagovailoa was a well-regarded passer, national champion and Heisman Trophy runner-up in his time with the Crimson Tide. A devastating injury he suffered in 2019 didn’t do much to harm his draft stock: He still landed in the top-5 with the Dolphins, and after a rocky start to his career under Brian Flores, he was given a second wind by now-former head coach Mike McDaniel. Tagovailoa is enigmatic and has had turnover issues through his career, and it appears likely that his TENUREwith the Dolphins has reached its end this offseason. In all, he’s thrown 120 touchdowns to 59 interceptions across 18,166 yards passing with a 44-32 record. He has yet to find a playoff victory in six seasons.
1976: Richard Todd, New York Jets (Round 1, Pick 6): Todd was expected to become the successor of another former Alabama quarterback, Joe Namath, when he was selected by the Jets in 1976. Todd, though, couldn’t quite fill the big shoes left by Namath: he would throw more interceptions than touchdowns in his career (124 TDs to 161 interceptions) and would only have two seasons with the Jets in which he threw more touchdowns than interceptions. Todd also infamously shoved longtime New York Post reporter Steve Serby into a locker following a locker-room incident.