Don’t let anyone tell you Ty Simpson is a bad quarterback

What went wrong for Simpson in 2025?

Buying into Simpson’s 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 conversation—ultimately Mendoza finished stronger and is now a Las Vegas Raider. But Simpson’s 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, Simpson’s 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 Simpson’s 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 Rams’ 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 isn’t Dart in the Ole Miss offense. You can clearly see production on Simpson’s tape that translates to the professional game. You just have to look for it.

The best parts of Simpson’s game

We know Sean McVay expects big-time throws from his quarterbacks. This is something littered all over Stafford’s 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:

• Diego Pavia (1): 7.4%
• Fernando Mendoza (21): 5.7%
• Garrett Nussmeier (49): 4.5%
• Cade Klubnik (68): 3.8%
• Carson Beck (79): 3.2% And while Simpson could certainly improve at taking care of the football, he’s certainly not in concerning territory from a turnover-worthy play perspective. Simpson ranked 42nd using the snap drop back thresholds with a 3.0% TWP rate.
• Beck (11): 2.2%
• Klubnik (11): 2.2%
• Pavia (21): 2.5%
• Mendoza (26): 2.6%
• Nussmeier (42): 3.0% For comparison, Stafford has career rates of 5.4% for big-time throws and 3.2% from a turnover-worthy play perspective. While college production does not easily translate to the NFL, Simpson and Stafford are similar on the surface. But one key difference from Stafford to Simpson is mobility, and this element should be a refreshing addition to the McVay offense. In 2025 Simpson rushed 91 times for 457 yards and five touchdowns. Despite his smaller stature he’s a physical runner and forced 18 missed tackles with 181 yards after contact. 15 of these rushes went for more than 10 yards. 33 plays were adlibbed scrambles and the remaining 58 rushes were designed. The underrated part of running ability at the quarterback position is the hidden first downs, and Simpson picked up 21 last year. This gives the offensive play caller flexibility in short yardage and goal line situations. Stafford isn’t even an effective option on a quarterback sneak. Colby Parkinson has handled these duties for LA at times.

Reconciling the emotions

Rams fans weren’t mentally prepared for the selection of Simpson. The pick flies in the face of LA’s “all in” 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 30’s. 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 harm’s 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. We’ve 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 Stafford’s retirement. It’s admirable that the team is attempting to thread the needle between an “all in” year while keeping an eye on the horizon. It’s difficult enough to build a roster capable of winning a Super Bowl. It’s 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.