The Los Angeles Rams have never been shy about making bold moves under head coach Sean McVay, but their recent selection of Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft has left many draft experts scratching their heads.
The Rams First Round Selection Left Many Analysts Confused
The “Football Debate Club” recently sounded off on the pick, slapping the Rams with a disastrous D- grade and labeling the move as a massive, risky reach.
To understand the controversy, one must look closely at Simpson’s collegiate resume. According to PFSN’s NFL Draft HQ, Simpson entered the draft with an 84.22 grade, ranking as the #47 overall prospect and the #2 quarterback in the class.
Operating as a one-year starter in 2025, Simpson posted impressive baseline numbers: a 64.5% completion rate, 3,567 passing yards, 28 touchdowns, and just 5 interceptions for a 145.2 passer rating.
Furthermore, PFSN’s CFB QB Impact Metric awarded him an 85.4 score, placing him 25th in the nation for the season with a solid “B” grade.
Despite the solid metrics and a famously clean mechanical profile, evaluators have major concerns regarding his limited game experience and athletic ceiling. In a recent draft breakdown, analyst Ian Cummings did not mince words regarding his evaluation of the Alabama product.
“He’s only a one-year starter, so it is a small sample size, but I don’t see an elite physical skill set,” Cummings noted. “The term that I always use is mechanical and mental freneticism. Sometimes he gets a little frantic and will miss reads, or that mechanical freneticism will cause shoulder misalignment, which causes imprecision.”
Cummings firmly believes Simpson was not a first-round talent, suggesting the Rams missed a major opportunity to improve their roster elsewhere.
“To me, it’s a reach for a player who still had a little more improvement,” Cummings said. “I think it would have been better for the Rams to take Makai Lemon or someone similar at 13.” With Matthew Stafford still under contract, Cummings argued that Los Angeles had the luxury of waiting on a quarterback.
Co-analyst Jacob Infante offered a slightly more optimistic view of the environment Simpson enters, even if he agreed the 13th overall pick was too rich.
“I like this landing spot a lot for Simpson,” Infante stated. “You can learn under Matthew Stafford coming off an MVP season. You’ve got Davante Adams and Puka Nacua… this is a really good opportunity.”
However, Infante quickly echoed concerns about the quarterback’s ultimate potential: “Average size, average arm strength. Average athleticism, I don’t know how high the ceiling is here… it’s a high-floor type of quarterback that you’re taking as a developmental [project].”
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Draft analysts ultimately compare Simpson to a Marc Bulger-type passer, a player with a good, but not great, operational skill set who could carve out a quality starting career but may never single-handedly elevate a franchise.
The Rams are betting that an apprenticeship under Stafford will iron out his inconsistencies, but the consensus remains that taking an average-ceiling prospect so early was a dangerous gamble.
