March 27, 2026, 11:06 a.m. PT
The Los Angeles Rams are everyone’s dark horse pick to draft a quarterback this year. The Rams are one of the most well-rounded teams in the league, but starting quarterback Matthew Stafford is 38 years old with no clear succession plan for him when he retires.
Many have speculated the Rams might look to the 2026 NFL draft for their next franchise quarterback, but the options are limited. Fernando Mendoza is expected to go No. 1 overall to the Las Vegas Raiders, which leaves a couple of unremarkable options who could be drafted at any other point. This includes Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson, who some believe could be a target for the Rams at No. 13.
ESPN’s Ben Solak isn’t so sure about that idea. He wrote on X that drafting Simpson would be in direct opposition to Les Snead and Sean McVay’s approach to the position after the team traded away Jared Goff for Stafford in 2021.
Solak’s analysis here isn’t that Simpson is a bad prospect, but that the Rams know they need an elite quarterback to take the offense to a Super Bowl-winning level. Simpson could develop into that player, but he didn’t show it in his one season as a starter at Alabama and would need a few seasons before he could rise to the level the Rams need.
The prevailing theory around the Rams’ quarterback strategy is either to wait on a mid- or late-round player (perhaps LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier, who the Rams are reportedly meeting with) or to find a veteran to succeed Stafford, either in free agency or via trade (Baker Mayfield, maybe).
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Taking Simpson at No. 13 might be too rich for the Rams’ blood, especially when they can take instant contributors on either side of the ball with the pick, or trade out of the selection to pick up more draft capital down the line.
But we’ll see what unfolds in about a month when the first round kicks off.
