Seahawks had third-round grade on Rams' No.13 pick Ty Simpson

The Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams differences in style grew more apparent than ever this offseason. Where Seattle filled positions of need in the draft and forewent the trade market, LA went another route with their top two picks. They made a splash trade for former All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie to fill their biggest need and drafted Ty Simpson as their quarterback of the future 13th overall.

After going toe-to-toe in three of the closest games of the 2025 NFL season, both were expected to go all-out to maximize their window of success- but when the Rams spent a first-round pick on Simpson, they veered off this path on draft night, seemingly taking the nearest exit to plan for the next 5 years and beyond.

Considering they already have the reigning NFL MVP in Matthew Stafford playing QB for them, Simpson is the rare risky draft pick that, in the best case scenario, doesn’t help the team win immediately. Is the juice even worth the squeeze? Apparently, the Seahawks didn’t think so at all.

According to a new report from Brady Henderson, Seattle had just a third-round grade on Simpson.

As he explains, the Seahawks are locked in on striking while the iron’s hot in this rivalry, as beating the Rams in 2026 gives them as good a shot to reach the Super Bowl again as any other team in the NFC. They were just happy to see the Rams sidestep an obvious improvement at offensive or defensive line, wide receiver, or tight end. The fact they valued the player so much lower wasn’t even the main story.

Only time will tell whether Simpson was the right choice for the future, but this move gave the Seahawks yet another edge in 2026. After that, it will be fascinating to watch Simpson take on Mike Macdonald’s defense someday, as he’ll need to do to make good on the value of the 13th overall pick. From the perspective of the contending Rams, though, he’ll need to earn the right to be seen as Matthew Stafford’s proper successor with little room for error.