NFL Draft bust candidates: Ty Simpson, Rueben Bain among riskiest picks in 2026

NFL Draft bust candidates: Ty Simpson, Rueben Bain among riskiest picks in 2026 originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . The NFL Draft is not an exact science, to say the least.

Even the wisest front office minds know selecting players is closer to an educated guess than anything else. The draft isn't completely random, though. First-round picks have a much higher rate of success than fourth-round picks, and second-round picks have a much higher rate of success than sixth-round picks.

A first-rounder flopping could cost a general manager his job, but a seventh-rounder never panning out is nothing out of the ordinary. That doesn't mean all highly-drafted players fulfill expectations. The 2026 NFL Draft will inevitably have its share of busts, and a few players have already showed warning signs before hearing their name called in Pittsburgh.

Here are seven NFL Draft prospects who could be bust candidates in 2026. MORE: Sporting News' complete 7-round mock draft Ty Simpson, QB, Alabama The rate of success for quarterbacks with only one year of starting experience at the college level isn't particularly high. Simpson spent four years in Alabama's system between Nick Saban and Kalen DeBoer, but he didn't take over as the Crimson Tide's starter until 2025.