Rams fans may not love what SEC defensive coordinators said about the club drafting Ty Simpson

The Los Angeles Rams making Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson the 13th overall selection of the 2026 NFL Draft surprised many because of when Simpson went off the board.

This is also because a win-now team that has reigning Most Valuable Player Matthew Stafford atop its depth chart used a valuable draft asset to acquire a project for the future instead of somebody who will start as a rookie. For a piece published on Monday, Adam Rittenberg of ESPN spoke with multiple unnamed SEC defensive coordinators about the Rams' bold Simpson-related draft decision. 

Why SEC defensive coordinators were surprised the Rams drafted Ty Simpson

"I honestly was surprised," one coordinator said about Simpson being the draft's 13th overall choice. "I was surprised by the team, too."

Stafford is expected to sign either a contract extension or an adjusted deal before the 2026 season gets underway. However, he will turn 39 years old in February 2027, and it's unclear if he will want to continue playing beyond the upcoming campaign. 

That said, the other coordinator told ESPN that former Alabama quarterbacks Jalen Milroe and Bryce Young "were tougher to prepare for than Simpson" during their college careers. 

"For him to go that high, I was a little bit like, 'Wow, OK,'" the second coordinator said about when Simpson was drafted. "I don't know how he practices, I don't know his mind. They were saying he was banged up in the back stretch, but he was just OK. Maybe he has those qualities that you can't coach that some of these [NFL teams] fell in love with."

Why one SEC coach thinks Rams, Ty Simpson could be a great fit for each other

Simpson shouldn't take a regular-season snap anytime soon unless disaster strikes the Rams at some point over the next seven months or so. Thus, he should be able to develop as an unused backup while learning from Stafford and head coach/offensive guru Sean McVay.

One SEC coordinator told Rittenberg that Simpson is "not ready to go be a starter in the NFL right now" because the prospect has "got work to do." Meanwhile, one SEC coach seems to believe Simpson will benefit from landing with the Rams.

"It's a great fit for him from a system standpoint, and who he's going to be behind for a year," the coach explained. "There's a lot of similarities [with Stafford]. [The pick] was the biggest [surprise], a guy who didn't have a ton of starts, but when he played, he played well. His long game is going to be really good."

Simpson recorded only 15 starts during his college career. Unless Stafford surprisingly rides off into the sunset of retirement this summer, the Rams will be playing the long game by having Simpson on their roster. However, Los Angeles drafting Simpson will remain a polarizing decision among members of the football community as long as Stafford is still the Rams' QB1.