The Rams regularly see their own draft pick fall late in the first round, but armed with the Falcons’ selection (via a first-round trade last year), Los Angeles will use the mid-first-round real estate to make a long-term investment.
Rumored to be high on Ty Simpson — but seen as iffy to select him this high — the Rams are taking a Matthew Stafford heir apparent at No. 13. The Falcons traded up 20 spots to add James Pearce Jr. last year. The Rams will use that to bet on Simpson, a one-year Alabama starter.
Stafford has not yet signed an extension, but that is widely rumored to be in the offing. This will create an interesting dynamic, as the Rams have followed the 2020 Packers’ lead by taking a quarterback in the first round as a Super Bowl contender. Jordan Love turned out to be a smart move; will the Rams be thankful they took Simpson in a draft-and-develop scenario?
A recent Trade Rumors Front Office piece listed the Rams’ lack of prime draft real estate as a factor in the Simpson derby. While rumors circulated the team was preparing to add strength to this year’s roster — as rumblings Simpson could fall out of Round 1 altogether emerged — the team will take the chance on adding a passer who will not be expected (barring a Stafford injury) to contribute this season. It is quite possible Simpson will be sitting for at least two years, representing a rare (pretty much Green Bay-only) developmental route among modern QBs.
Such an approach may be the best-case scenario for Simpson. The same developmental route benefited him in Tuscaloosa. Sitting as a true freshman behind future No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young, then sitting two more years behind Jalen Milroe before finally being named the starter for the Crimson Tide. In his single season leading the first-team offense, Simpson was able to look past an initial faltering out the gate in a brutal loss to a below average Florida State team to become one of the hottest names in college football over the first half of the season.
In nine starts, Simpson looked like the early frontrunner for QB1 in this draft class, completing 66.9 percent of his passes for 21 touchdowns and only one interception while averaging 273.4 passing yards per game. Despite the disappearance the Tide’s WR1 from 2024 Ryan Williams and the surprising lack of a run game in Bryant-Denny Stadium, it looked like Simpson had put his squad back on track for an easy run to the College Football Playoff. Over the next six weeks, though, Simpson saw a stark decline in quality of play, completing only 60.5 percent of his passes for seven touchdowns and four interceptions while only averaging 184.3 passing yards per game.
Speculation over what caused this deterioration offered theories that a home loss to Oklahoma had revealed his kryptonite, that teams had finally gotten enough film to figure him out, or that his health had limited his performance. It was believed that a lower back injury and elbow bursitis began hurting him in October, while other reports cited gastritis that caused him to lose nearly 20 pounds. Adding injury to insult, his season ended when he suffered a fractured rib in a blowout loss to the eventual champion Hoosiers.
Sitting behind Stafford, Simpson should have plenty of time to get fully healthy, if he isn’t already. He’ll also have ample time to clean up the minor parts of his game that scouts nitpicked from his lone year as a starter. Evaluators wanted to see a greater variety of touch on his passes along with improved consistency on deep passes. Any lack of starting experience isn’t going to go anywhere as he sits for a a couple more years, but as a prospect praised for his mental acuity, getting to study film and NFL defenses while backing up an MVP for a year or two should do miracles for his NFL development.
If all goes as planned, it may be some time before we hear Simpson’s name again with any significance. If all goes as planned, Simpson should be taking over an a talented offense as a seasoned NFL player with a couple years of preparation under his belt. The Rams are hoping things will go according to plan.
This content was brought to you by: Pro Football Rumors
