Throughout the beginning of the 2025 NFL regular season, analysts and fans only had one position on their mind for the New Orleans Saints’ 2026 draft plan: QB. This was until rookie QB Tyler Shough began to prove his worth and play like the future in New Orleans.
QB was quickly removed from the Saints’ 2026 draft plans, and as a result, some recent developments have made life much better for this team.
The Top of the 2026 NFL Draft Is Shaken Up
Entering the offseason, there was only one top QB prospect that felt like a guarantee they would declare, and that’s Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, who is ranked 2nd in PFSN’s CFB QB Impact Metric. There is an excellent chance Mendoza will be #1 overall in the draft, given that the Las Vegas Raiders own that pick, but another QB, Oregon’s Dante Moore, could change that.
The likelihood of Moore declaring in 2026 has fluctuated all season, but he is already projected to go in the top 2 of the draft. CFB has seen QBs go back to school in recent years, even if they could have been top picks, and regret that decision. Penn State’s Drew Allar, who was expected to be a top pick in 2025 but may not even go day 2 in 2026. Moore may not want to make that same mistake.
There is a good chance that both Mendoza and Moore end up declaring, which would make them go 1 and 2 in the draft. That leaves the Arizona Cardinals at three, who need a QB. Well, they may have an option come April. Today, it was announced that Alabama QB Ty Simpson will declare for the 2026 NFL Draft instead of returning for another year, per Pete Thamel.
Sources: Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson is turning pro. He just informed the Alabama coaches of his decision.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 7, 2026
With Simpson being a Redshirt Junior, ending the season with a disappointing performance, having started only one year in CFB, and still needing to develop, there was little expectation that the QB would declare. Clearly, Simpson expects to be highly coveted in the draft process.
Why Ty Simpson Declaring Matters for the Saints
As I mentioned before, the Saints no longer have a need at QB. That’s great, but the rest of the roster needs work. At this point in the offseason, the Saints can go a number of directions at pick #8, and with Simpson declaring for the draft, their options just increased by one more player.
If Mendoza, Moore, and Simpson are all 2026 draft prospects, those three are probably going in the top selections (Raiders, New York Jets, Cardinals). Before this news, the Cardinals were an interesting team at #3 with their need at QB, but no QB to select.
Now, they have that option, which means one of the other positions they could have selected will now be available at 4. This increases the available players by one for each team, including the Saints, that does not need a QB after pick 3.
Obviously, this all depends on whether Moore and Mendoza declare and the Cardinals actually draft Simpson, but if it does happen, the Saints may have one of their top players fall right into their lap.
