Rams Explain Decision to Select QB Ty Simpson With No. 13 Pick
The Rams have lined up their successor for Matthew Stafford.
In one of the biggest surprises of the 2026 NFL draft, the Rams selected Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson with the No. 13 pick. Though Simpson is seen as the consensus No. 2 quarterback in this year's draft class, many did not anticipate he would go in the top-15 of the draft, or even the first round. Simpson was seen as a potential candidate to fall into the second round.
Heading into the draft, mock drafts frequently had the Rams selecting a receiver or a playmaker to boost their chances at winning another Super Bowl before Stafford retires. Of course, mock drafts are often wrong. In this case, they were again.
"I don't know if you can ever take someone in the draft and say they're going to come in and play, especially on a team like ours," general manager Les Snead said of taking Simpson over a player who could contribute right away. "You have to come in, you have to earn equity, earn trust before you're gonna get a jersey on game day."
Instead, the Rams have acquired Simpson, who is positioned to sit behind Stafford. Per Jay Glazer, Sean McVay informed Stafford of the Rams' plans to draft Simpson beforehand and made it clear that the selection is for when Stafford decides to move on. "Let's make one thing clear, this is Matthew's team," McVay told reporters after the pick. McVay noted Stafford handled the news well, saying of the veteran quarterback, "He was great. He's always a stud. He's always first class in every sense of the word."
Per Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer, when Simpson was deciding whether to enter the NFL draft or not, Rams general manager Les Snead did advise his family as they made that choice to leave college football for the pros. At the time, the Rams had both the No. 13 and No. 29 picks. They ultimately traded the No. 29 pick to the Chiefs for Trent McDuffie and used the No. 13 selection on Simpson.
Simpson said after he was selected, via Bridget Condon, "I was super blessed and super excited. The fact that an organization like the Los Angeles Rams believed in me and took a chance on me I'm so grateful for."
During the 2025 season, Simpson completed 64.5% of his passes for 3,567 yards, 28 touchdowns and five touchdowns as Alabama advanced to the CFP. Though Simpson had a strong season, his play waned as he dealt with injuries over the latter part of the year. His lack of starts-just 15-was also a key concern as he entered the draft.
Snead highlighted processing and mobility as two of Simpson's strengths, and also credited his perseverance in waiting for his turn at Alabama and rebounding from the loss to Florida State at the start of the 2025 season.
With the Rams, Simpson will be able to learn from McVay, and Stafford and not be rushed onto the field as he competes with Stetson Bennett IV for the backup gig. He told NFL Network, "Learning from Sean McVay and then Matthew, who is obviously one of the greatest of all time, I'm looking forward to it."
Simpson also said of playing with Stafford, via Condon, "We watched his film all the time while I was at 'Bama ... I couldn't ask for a better situation."
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Rams Explain Decision to Select QB Ty Simpson With No. 13 Pick.
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This story was originally published April 23, 2026 at 8:00 PM.