It’s no secret that the Los Angeles Rams are in need of a new long-term solution under center as 2025 NFL MVP quarterback Matthew Stafford is coming to the end of his impressive career. He signed on for another year in the offseason through a one-year, $55 million extension. However, the Rams had already used a first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft on their hopeful replacement: former Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson.
The selection shocked the NFL world, as many thought the Rams would have used the 13th overall pick, acquired from the Atlanta Falcons in the 2025 NFL Draft, to bolster the roster elsewhere. But with a chance to get the guy they wanted under center and confident with the talent they had at the time, general manager Les Snead took the risk. Now, after an impressive preseason debut from the rookie, Simpson has analysts split on his future.
NFL Analysts Have Mixed Reactions to Ty Simpson’s Rams Debut
There’s no denying that the Rams have all the talent to repeat their success from the 2025 season.
Stafford was the second-best signal-caller in the league last year, according to PFN’s QB Impact Metric, sitting behind New England Patriots QB Drake Maye with an impact score of 87.0. He completed 388 of 597 pass attempts for 4,707 yards, 46 touchdowns, and just eight interceptions.
Yet, with the veteran heading into his 18th season and retirement already a topic of discussion over the past few seasons, it’s time for Los Angeles to prepare for the future.
While the selection of former Georgia QB Stetson Bennett in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft wasn’t necessarily the best solution, the Rams’ decision to spend a first-round pick on Simpson suggests they believe he can lead the franchise following Stafford’s departure.
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It’s only the preseason, but Simpson treated Snead, head coach Sean McVay, and the Rams fan base to a show in his Los Angeles debut. Taking a majority of the snaps in the Rams’ first preseason matchup of the 2026 season against the Kansas City Chiefs, Simpson completed 21 of 25 passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns as Los Angeles won 20-12.
PFN’s analyst Ian Cummings gave a great explanation as to why the rookie looked so good in his debut, posting, “The Rams’ system rewards operators at QB & I think Ty Simpson showed he can do what’s needed of him today.
“Looked poised in the pocket, accurate, quick to discern, & even showed some MOF anticipation. More time behind Stafford will only help.”
Cummings bringing up the Rams system, rewarding operators, could be a concern for some when evaluating Simpson in the preseason, as PFN’s fantasy football analyst Kyle Soppe pointed out, “There’s never a bad time for good tape, but Stetson Bennett essentially did this 12 months ago. Let’s pump the brakes just a touch in talks of a clean transition when the time comes and enjoy Stafford while we have him.”
On the other hand, PFN’s Jacob Infante focused his post on Snead and the Rams’ roster moves. During Snead’s tenure, Los Angeles has had a Super Bowl-or-bust mentality in its trading and draft strategies.
With the Simpson selection adding to the puzzling moves, Infante posted, “If Ty Simpson turns out to be legit, we need to investigate Les Snead for devil magic cuz this is just not fair, man.”
Meanwhile, PFN’s Jason Katz, a fantasy football analyst, couldn’t help but think about how Simpson could be a massive boost for the Rams offense this season should Stafford run into any injury issues, saying, “Perhaps for the first time since the Rams traded for Matthew Stafford, fantasy managers can feel okay about what the offense might look like if he missed a few games. Ty Simpson looked very comfortable in his debut.”
Katz isn’t saying that Simpson is going to elevate the offense in Stafford’s absence as replacing the 2025 second-ranked signal-caller in PFN’s QBi is quite a tall task. But after seeing his poise in the pocket and consistency in his preseason debut, Simpson should have no issues feeding Los Angeles’ offensive weapons after some more time behind Stafford.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.