No draft pick has been discussed more since last week than the Los Angeles Rams’ selection of Ty Simpson at No. 13 overall. Les Snead and Sean McVay have talked about it endlessly, while analysts left and right have broken it down in both positive and negative lights.
ESPN’s Matt Miller likes the decision at least a little bit, but he may not have been a big fan of the Rams’ other picks. He ranked his 100 best picks of the 2026 draft and only one Rams selection made the cut: Simpson at 13.
It was ranked 42nd on Miller’s list, with Simpson being ranked as the 40th-best player on his final board.
On value, Simpson wasn’t a match for where he was selected. But the idea of drafting a quarterback before you need one is strong. It worked for Green Bay — twice. It worked for Kansas City when Alex Smith was taking the Chiefs to the playoffs. And though no one would say that Simpson will be Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes or Jordan Love, it’s a sound thought process. If you’re a perennial Super Bowl contender such as the Rams, you believe that you won’t have an early enough pick in the first round of the next two drafts to select Matthew Stafford’s successor. So although the value is off — and I would have selected a wide receiver such as Lemon — the Rams’ team-building plan is sound.
The safer selection would’ve been Makai Lemon, as Miller said he would’ve done. But by using their bonus pick on Simpson, the Rams are gambling and hoping to hit the long-term lottery at the most important position on the field.
If Simpson succeeds and becomes the Rams’ starting quarterback a few years from now, this pick will look like a win, no matter how early Los Angeles took Simpson. But if he flames out and becomes the next Trey Lance or Mac Jones, the Rams could come to regret this decision.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Only one Rams draft pick ranked among ESPN’s 100 best of 2026
Reporting by Cameron DaSilva, Rams Wire / Rams Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
