Random Ramsdom: They had a polarizing draft

“On “The Arena: Gridiron” Friday, Talib ripped the Rams for having the “worst draft” after Round 1, criticizing the team by saying it “wasted” the 13th pick on Simpson in the first round. Like many others, Talib argues that the Rams should’ve stayed in win-now mode and tried to find a player who could help them right away, not a quarterback who may not play for a couple of years. “If I’m Sean, if I’m Les, who can help me beat Seattle right now? And I don’t think they did that. They wasted the 13th pick with a future backup, in my opinion,” he said.“

2026 NFL Draft grades: Most experts not high on Rams’ class (ramswire)

“Even though some experts have come around on the idea of drafting Ty Simpson, they also question how he’ll perform in the NFL after having just one season of starting experience in college. And for a team that was so successful on offense last season, using four of its first five picks on that side of the ball was slightly puzzling. Below is a list of expert grades, and you can find our individual pick grades here.“

Mel Kiper Jr. flames Rams draft, says Ty Simpson pick ‘makes little sense’ (sportingnews.com)

“”This still makes little sense,” Kiper writes. “When Los Angeles got on the clock at No. 13, Monroe Freeling and Blake Miller were there. Makai Lemon, whom I projected to the Rams in my final mock draft, was still there. It was all lining up for coach Sean McVay and the Rams. But then Los Angeles shocked everyone and took Ty Simpson.” The Rams taking Simpson is a massive blow for their draft grade, and is a move that Kiper still cannot wrap his head around. And it’s a move that’s hard to comprehend in general, especially with wide receiver Makai Lemon on the board still.“

Ex-Rams DE explains why the Ty Simpson pick was actually smart (ramswire)

“”Like, that’s some rich people [expletive] man and that’s just what the Rams are,” Long said. “They’re so rich that they were like, ‘Yeah, I think we have everything we want. We’ll take care of the needs that we have elsewhere later. We think it’s important to draft a guy to succeed our quarterback, who’s currently playing out of his mind at 38 years old or whatever he is.’ The Rams are a [expletive] wagon and they’re going to be good for a while if this kid can play quarterback in the NFL. I mean, it’s just like, this is what great organizations do.”