Sean McVay sat at the post-draft podium looking like a man who had lost an argument.
Short with reporters, deferring to GM Les Snead for most questions, McVay used his first answer about Ty Simpson to make sure everyone in the room understood the chain of command. “Let’s make one thing clear, this is Matthew’s team,” McVay said.
The Los Angeles Rams had just spent the 13th overall pick on a quarterback. Matthew Stafford had just won NFL MVP. Even the head coach who signed off on the pick seemed to know the optics needed cleanup. Now, weeks later, PFSN’s NFL analyst Jacob Infante still wasn’t sure what to think of the selection while discussing it on PFSN’s Football Debate Club.
The Rams Don’t Pick This High, And They Haven’t for a Decade
The Rams have traded their first-round pick in nine of the last 10 drafts. The only one they kept was 2024, when they took Jared Verse 19th overall, the franchise’s first first-round selection since Jared Goff in 2016.
They sent their own 2026 first-rounder to the Kansas City Chiefs for Trent McDuffie in March. The 13th pick that became Simpson was the one that the Atlanta Falcons gave them in last year’s draft-day deal for No. 26.
PFSN’s NFL analyst T.J. Randall defended the decision to select Simpson.
“The average placement of the Rams’ original first-round pick since 2018 has been 23rd overall,” Randall said. “If you look at the 29 first-round quarterbacks chosen prior to the 2026 draft, there were only a few of them picked later than 23rd. So it’s just historically difficult to nab quarterbacks later. Selecting a guy who is largely seen as a first-round-caliber player at that position without surrendering additional capital, I don’t have any issues with that.”
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The Rams have built around veteran trades and hitting on Day 2 and Day 3 talent like Puka Nacua. They have given themselves no realistic path to a high-end quarterback prospect through normal channels. The Atlanta pick was a window into a tier of the draft they don’t get to operate in. Spending it on the only position where late-round acquisition is meaningfully harder is positional value 101.
However, Infante pushed back on the pick.
“I don’t think it was wasted necessarily because of the positional value, but I am a little bit confused,” Infante said. “Simpson is a talented prospect, but I think he’s got too many concerns in his profile for me to have been willing to take him that early. You’re looking at a one-year starter at the collegiate level, a little bit undersized for the position. Average arm strength, average athleticism. The physical upside to me just isn’t there to warrant a top-15 pick.”
Simpson started 15 games at Alabama. His 305-of-473 line for 3,567 yards and 28 touchdowns is impressive, but his production cratered in the final stretch as defenses ratcheted up the pressure. The 7 touchdowns to 4 interceptions in his final six games is the number that scared a lot of people into wondering if he was a second-round prospect.
Tom Pelissero reported that Snead told Simpson’s parents during their Rose Bowl visit that the Rams planned to take him at No. 13, so the Rams have been big fans for some time.
Simpson’s rookie deal lands at $25.41 million over four years, fully guaranteed, with a fifth-year option, per Over The Cap. The $14.94 million signing bonus is the bulk of it.
The pick was a surprise, but not necessarily a waste. The Rams are paying a premium they’re uniquely positioned to absorb. They have a roster built to contend right now with the MVP under center. Simpson can sit, learn, compete with Stetson Bennett for the No. 2 spot, and develop under a QB whisperer in McVay.
The Rams didn’t draft Simpson because Stafford is finished. They drafted him because the window where they had a top-15 pick and a quarterback worth taking is unlikely to open again on their schedule. What Simpson is right now is irrelevant; the Rams are hoping that three years from now, he’ll be ready to step in and succeed Stafford as their long-term solution under center.
