The Miami Dolphins are meeting with two of the top quarterbacks in the 2026 NFL draft—Carson Beck of the University of Miami and Ty Simpson of the University of Alabama, as per Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo on X.
Each team is allowed to host up to 30 draft-eligible prospects at their facility for interviews, medical evaluations, and any other processes the team sees fit. The Dolphins have chosen to meet with Beck and Simpson, and those “Top-30” meetings will take place later this week. Both Beck and Simpson are
meeting with a number of other teams as well, including the New York Jets, Arizona Cardinals, and Pittsburgh Steelers.
Who is Carson Beck?
The Jacksonville native stands at 6’4, 220 pounds, and threw for 30 touchdowns and 3,813 passing yards last year for the Hurricanes. Lance Zierlein, senior NFL analyst and draft guru for the NFL Network, says that Beck has “NFL-caliber size” and “a lot of experience” in high-stakes games. He throws a catchable ball, but can lose velocity on deep balls and often has spotty accuracy. He is projected to be drafted in the 3rd round of this year’s draft, according to popular mock drafts and expert predictions around the league.
Interestingly, the Dolphins already met with Beck at the NFL Combine earlier this year.
Who is Ty Simpson?
A former five-star prospect in high school, Simpson spent all four years of college with the Crimson Tide, but was only named the starter during his senior year. Standing at 6’1 and 211 pounds, he is widely considered a better overall prospect than Beck, though much smaller. He threw for 3,567 passing yards and 28 touchdowns last year and was nominated for the Manning Award (nation’s top collegiate quarterback).
Zierlein describes Simpson as a fundamentally sound passer, with solid mechanics and above-average decision making. However, Simpson lacks the arm talent, size, and strength typically displayed by first-round quarterback prospects. His pro-comparison would be Mac Jones, as per Zierlein. Simpson is projected to be taken in the first round of this year’s draft.
What does this mean for Malik Willis?
Of course, the Dolphins already signed free agent quarterback Malik Willis to a three-year deal earlier this offseason. Willis was expected to be the starter following the departure of Tua Tagovailoa, but that may not be the case anymore. One would assume that the Dolphins are unlikely to use a first-round pick on Simpson just months after signing Willis, but stranger things have happened.
However, the scenario in which the Dolphins draft Carson Beck in the third round seems much more realistic. The Dolphins have seven picks in the Top-100 picks of this year’s draft, including three 3rd-round selections: No. 75, No. 87, and No. 90. Both Beck and Simpson would likely sit behind Willis to start training camp, but either of these scenarios going through would almost certainly signal that a quarterback competition is on the horizon in Miami.
