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Former Rams quarterback Jim Everett opened up on the team's decision to draft Ty Simpson

The Los Angeles Rams only selected five players in the 2026 NFL Draft, but that didn’t stop them from making arguably the most surprising selection of the entire draft. With the No. 13 overall pick in the first round, the Rams shocked the world by selecting Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson.

With Matthew Stafford under center, Los Angeles doesn’t need a quarterback currently, but that sentiment could change at some point in the near future, which led to the team bringing Simpson to town. The move has been quite divisive, and it recently led one of the Rams’ former Pro Bowl quarterbacks, Jim Everett, to weigh in on the situation.

Jim Everett Loves the Rams’ Decision to Draft Ty Simpson

Stafford is fresh off an MVP campaign in 2025 that very nearly saw the Rams find their way back to the Super Bowl. Rather than helping him, though, by adding a blue-chip contributor in the first round, Los Angeles decided to draft his potential replacement, even though he is still playing the best football of his entire career.

Not only was that part of the decision to draft Simpson surprising, but using the No. 13 pick on him was also a shock. In the eyes of many evaluators, Simpson was a late first-round pick at best, not a mid-round selection. The timing of the entire move has left a lot of folks scratching their heads, even though Los Angeles’ intentions are clear as day.

L.A. has gotten bashed for its decision to draft Simpson, but it’s clear that if things go according to plan, it will be set at the quarterback position for years to come. Everett understands why there’s confusion surrounding the Simpson pick, but he doesn’t think that should take away from the fact that he’s a good player who could slot in as Stafford’s eventual replacement.

“I think Ty Simpson is pretty damn good,” Everett said in an interview with Action Network. “I think he can play. And I think he comes from a family that has a mindset that Sean McVay loves.”

Rams Take a Big Risk with Ty Simpson Pick

GettyThe Rams considered drafting Makai Lemon instead of Ty Simpson with their first-round pick

The reasoning for drafting Simpson is certainly sound, but that doesn’t make it any less risky. Not only has Los Angeles run the risk of making Stafford angry or potentially destroying his confidence, but it also failed to use this high draft pick to make the team around him better. Anytime you have a team with Super Bowl aspirations, which is precisely what the Rams have, this sort of decision has to be viewed through a different lens.

There’s a chance that Simpson could become the next great quarterback for L.A., or the team could go out and win a Super Bowl in 2026. If they can’t win another title before Stafford calls it a career, though, or Simpson doesn’t develop into the quarterback the Rams thought he could become, this could go down as one of the biggest mistakes in the history of the NFL Draft.