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Feb 28, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Miami quarterback Carson Beck (QB04) during the NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Carson Beck may have to thank Ty Simpson.
If the Miami QB Beck goes earlier in the NFL Draft than expected, he probably can appreciate that Alabama's Simpson helped make it happen.
That's because Simpson went earlier than everyone was expecting, all the way up at No. 13 overall to the Los Angeles Rams.
Any team that might've been targeting Simpson as a quarterback will now have to look elsewhere, and there are definitely multiple teams that fit that bill.
Beck isn't the sure-thing QB3 in the draft class behind Fernando Mendoza and Simpson, but he might be.
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When will Carson Beck be drafted?
ESPN's Matt Miller thinks it could happen early in the second round.
He made a refreshed mock draft after the first round concluded, and he sees the Arizona Cardinals taking Beck.
The Cardinals have the No. 34 overall pick, the second pick of the second round.
"Is this a reach for Beck? It is, based on predraft rankings of him, but the Cardinals are in quarterback purgatory and need to take swings to find a capable starter," Miller writes. "Beck's excellent play in the College Football Playoff changed the narrative on him, and there are believers around the NFL in his ability as a future starter."
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The Cardinals currently have Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew. They probably aren't planning on a rookie starting in Week 1, but getting a younger QB to try and plan for the future is probably the move to make at some point here in this draft.
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