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Ty Simpson was selected 13th overall by the Los Angeles Rams in the NFL Draft, sparking mixed reactions among fans. Despite a challenging college season marred by injuries, he is seen as a promising prospect with strong mobility and throwing capabilities.
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The Rams selected Ty Simpson to prepare for the future as Matthew Stafford nears the end of his career, believing Simpson has the potential to be a strong quarterback.
Ty Simpson battled a back injury and broke a rib during his final college season, which affected his performance and completion rate.
Before his injuries, Ty Simpson completed passes at a 73.3% rate through the first eight weeks of the season, showcasing his potential as a top quarterback prospect.
Ty Simpson is known for his mobility, strong arm, and ability to make big-time throws, ranking 17th among college quarterbacks in that category.
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Buying into Simpsonâs final year at the college level does require some handwaving away of the bad. The top of the draft class was wide open. Simpson was on pace to be in the first overall selection conversationâultimately Mendoza finished stronger and is now a Las Vegas Raider. But Simpsonâs decline starting around November has important nuance that we must take into account. According to Greg Liodice of Yahoo Sports, Simpson completed passes at a 73.3% clip through the first eight weeks of the year. Through the season finale, Simpsonâs completion rate in the remaining games dipped to 61.4%. Simpson had been battling a back injury before this inflection point and then broke a rib in Week 9. The quarterback took painkillers to fight through the injuries and ended up with gastritis as a result. The snowball continued to pile up until Alabama was sent home from the college playoffs sooner than expected, and Simpsonâs play factored into the result. Skeptics will say that you cannot simply ignore the injuries. Simpson has a slight frame at 6-1, 211 lbs. A player of that stature may be no stranger to dings throughout their career. But if you focus on what Simpson is capable of, you can see the Ramsâ vision. He brings a refreshing element of mobility to Los Angeles. His arm is strong and he has great touch to layer throws between defenders. This isnât Dart in the Ole Miss offense. You can clearly see production on Simpsonâs tape that translates to the professional game. You just have to look for it.
We know Sean McVay expects big-time throws from his quarterbacks. This is something littered all over Staffordâs tape during his Detroit days and they have only grown more frequent in LA. Simpson is also capable of throwing receivers open. He tossed big-time throws at a 6.0% clip in 2025 according to Pro Football Focus (PFF). This ranked 17th among all college quarterbacks with at least 288 drop backs. These are the notable draft prospects within the range:
Rams fans werenât mentally prepared for the selection of Simpson. The pick flies in the face of LAâs âall inâ approach for 2025. But this is a smart move by the front office. Les Snead and McVay are inclined to move on from a player a year too soon rather than being caught in a bad situation. The quarterback cliff is real, and we cannot realistically expect Stafford to sustain his MVP level performance in his late 30âs. There is also some reading of the tea leaves that needs done. We cannot memory hole the fact that LA almost traded Stafford to the Raiders or Giants a year ago. He was coming off a disappointing 2024 season and an NFC divisional game against the Eagles where he put the ball in harmâs way four times. His big-time throws fell off a cliff to a 4.2% rate. The Falcons thought Matt Ryan had years left and when they blinked they had Desmond Ridder under center. At least they learned their lesson by drafting Michael Penix shortly after signing Kirk Cousins, although the jury is still out on that move. Weâve also seen abrupt endings for the likes of Drew Brees, Russell Wilson, Geno Smith, Peyton Manning, and others. Tom Brady and Stafford are exceptions to the rule, although father time eventually wins. The worst outcome for fans would be for the Rams to find themselves blindsided by Staffordâs retirement. Itâs admirable that the team is attempting to thread the needle between an âall inâ year while keeping an eye on the horizon. Itâs difficult enough to build a roster capable of winning a Super Bowl. Itâs even harder to sustain success through a quarterback change. The Rams are trying to have it both ways. We will see if their plan is met with great success.