The Rams reach for Stafford’s successorThe Rams delivered the biggest shock of the night, sticking at pick No 13 and selecting Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson. It was a stunner that seemed to take even their head coach by surprise. Sean McVay seemed less than enthusiastic at the Rams’ post-pick press conference, and Simpson said in an interview that he’s never met McVay.
Maybe it shouldn’t have been a shock. Simpson, who started just 15 games in college, hemmed and hawed about whether to enter the draft at all. But a key reason he entered the class was Rams general manager Les Snead telling him he was a first-round pick. On Thursday, Snead stuck to his word, reaching for a quarterback tabbed as a fringe first-round prospect.
1 Las Vegas, Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana 2 New York Jets, David Bailey, LB, Texas Tech 3 Arizona, Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame 4 Tennessee, Carnell Tate, WR, Ohio State 5 New York Giants, Arvell Reese, LB, Ohio State 6 Kansas City (from Cleveland), Mansoor Delane, CB, LSU 7 Washington, Sonny Styles, LB, Ohio State 8 New Orleans, Jordyn Tyson, WR, Arizona State 9 Cleveland (from Kansas City), Spencer Fano, OT, Utah 10 New York Giants (from Cincinnati), Francis Mauigoa, OT, Miami 11 Dallas (from Miami), Caleb Downs, S, Ohio State 12 Miami (from Dallas), Kadyn Proctor, OT, Alabama 13 LA Rams (from Atlanta), Ty Simpson, QB, Alabama 14 Baltimore, Olaivavega Ioane, G, Penn State 15 Tampa Bay, Rueben Bain Jr, LB, Miami 16 New York Jets (from Indianapolis), Kenyon Sadiq, TE, Oregon 17 Detroit, Blake Miller, OT, Clemson 18 Minnesota, Caleb Banks, DT, Florida 19 Carolina, Monroe Freeling, OT, Georgia 20 Philadelphia (from Green Bay through Dallas), Makai Lemon, WR, USC 21 Pittsburgh, Max Iheanachor, OT, Arizona State 22 LA Chargers, Akheem Mesidor, LB, Miami 23 Dallas (from Philadelphia), Malachi Lawrence, LB, UCF 24 Cleveland (from Jacksonville), KC Concepcion, WR, Texas A&M 25 Chicago, Dillon Thieneman, S, Oregon 26 Houston (from Buffalo), Keylan Rutledge, G, Georgia Tech 27 Miami (from San Francisco), Chris Johnson, CB, San Diego State 28 New England (from Houston through Buffalo), Caleb Lomu, OT, Utah 29 Kansas City (from LA Rams), Peter Woods, DT, Clemson 30 New York Jets (from Denver through Miami and San Francisco), Omar Cooper Jr, WR, Indiana 31 Tennessee (from New England through Buffalo), Keldric Faulk, DE, Clemson 32 Seattle, Jadarian Price, RB, Notre Dame
33 San Francisco (from New York Jets) 34 Arizona 35 Buffalo (from Tennessee) 36 Las Vegas 37 New York Giants 38 Houston (from Washington) 39 Cleveland 40 Kansas City 41 Cincinnati 42 New Orleans 43 Miami 44 New York Jets (from Dallas) 45 Baltimore 46 Tampa Bay 47 Indianapolis 48 Atlanta 49 Minnesota 50 Detroit 51 Carolina 52 Green Bay 53 Pittsburgh 54 Philadelphia 55 LA Chargers 56 Jacksonville 57 Chicago 58 San Francisco 59 Houston 60 Chicago (from Buffalo) 61 LA Rams 62 Denver 63 New England 64 Seattle
65 Arizona 66 Tennessee 67 Las Vegas 68 Philadelphia (from New York Jets) 69 Tennessee (from New York Giants via Houston and Buffalo) 70 Cleveland 71 Washington 72 Cincinnati 73 New Orleans 74 Cleveland (from Kansas City) 75 Miami 76 Pittsburgh (from Dallas) 77 Tampa Bay 78 Indianapolis 79 Atlanta 80 Baltimore 81 Jacksonville (from Detroit) 82 Minnesota 83 Carolina 84 Green Bay 85 Pittsburgh 86 LA Chargers 87 Miami (from Philadelphia) 88 Jacksonville 89 Chicago 90 San Francisco (from Houston via Miami) 91 Houston (from Buffalo) 92 Dallas (from San Francisco) 93 LA Rams 94 Miami (from Denver) 95 New England 96 Seattle 97 Minnesota 98 Philadelphia 99 Pittsburgh 100 Jacksonville
101 Buffalo (from Tennessee) 102 Las Vegas 103 New York Jets 104 Arizona 105 New York Giants 106 Houston (from Washington) 107 Cleveland 108 Denver (from New Orleans) 109 Kansas City 110 Cincinnati 111 Denver (from Miami) 112 Dallas 113 Indianapolis 114 Dallas (from Atlanta via Philadelphia) 115 Baltimore 116 Tampa Bay 117 Las Vegas (from Minnesota via Jacksonville) 118 Detroit 119 Carolina 120 Green Bay 121 Pittsburgh 122 Atlanta (from Philadelphia) 123 LA Chargers 124 Jacksonville 125 Buffalo (from Chicago via Kansas City and New England) 126 Buffalo 127 San Francisco 128 Detroit (from Houston) 129 Chicago (from LA Rams) 130 Miami (from Denver) 131 New England 132 New Orleans (from Seattle) 133 San Francisco 134 Las Vegas 135 Pittsburgh 136 New Orleans 137 Dallas (from Philadelphia) 138 Miami (from San Francisco) 139 San Francisco 140 New York Jets
141 Houston (from Las Vegas and Cleveland) 142 Tennessee (from New York Jets via Baltimore) 143 Arizona 144 Tennessee (from LA Rams) 145 New York Giants 146 Cleveland 147 Washington 148 Cleveland (from Kansas City) 149 Cleveland (from Cincinnati) 150 New Orleans 151 Miami 152 Dallas 153 Green Bay (from Atlanta via Philadelphia) 154 Baltimore 155 Tampa Bay 156 Indianapolis 157 Detroit 158 Carolina (from Minnesota) 159 Carolina 160 Green Bay 161 Pittsburgh 162 Baltimore (from LA Chargers) 163 Minnesota (from Philadelphia) 164 Jacksonville 165 Tennessee (from Chicago via Buffalo) 166 Jacksonville (from San Francisco via Philadelphia) 167 Buffalo (from Houston via Philadelphia) 168 Buffalo 169 Kansas City (from LA Rams) 170 Denver 171 New England 172 New Orleans (from Seattle) 173 Baltimore 174 Baltimore 175 Las Vegas 176 Kansas City 177 Miami (from Dallas) 178 Philadelphia 179 San Francisco (from New York Jets) 180 Miami (from Dallas) 181 Detroit
182 Buffalo (from New York Jets via Cleveland, Jacksonville and Las Vegas) 183 Arizona 184 Tennessee 185 Las Vegas 186 New York Giants 187 Washington 188 Seattle (from Cleveland) 189 Cincinnati 190 New Orleans 191 New England (from Kansas City) 192 New York Giants (from Miami) 193 New York Giants (from Dallas) 194 Tennessee (from Baltimore via New York Jets) 195 Tampa Bay 196 Minnesota (from Indianapolis) 197 Philadelphia (from Atlanta) 198 New England (from Minnesota via Houston and San Francisco) 199 Cincinnati (from Detroit via Cleveland) 200 Carolina 201 Green Bay 202 New England (from Pittsburgh) 203 Jacksonville (from Philadelphia via Houston) 204 LA Chargers 205 Detroit (from Jacksonville) 206 Cleveland (from Chicago) 207 LA Rams (from Houston via Tennessee) 208 Las Vegas (from Buffalo via New York Jets) 209 Washington (from San Francisco) 210 Kansas City (from LA Rams) 211 Baltimore (from Denver via New York Jets, Minnesota and Philadelphia) 212 New England 213 Detroit (from Seattle via Jacksonville) 214 Indianapolis (from Pittsburgh) 215 Atlanta (from Philadelphia) 216 Pittsburgh
217 Arizona 218 Dallas (from Tennessee) 219 Las Vegas 220 Buffalo (from New York Jets) 221 Cincinnati (from New York Giants via Dallas) 222 Detroit (from Cleveland) 223 Washington 224 Pittsburgh (from New Orleans via New England) 225 Tennessee (from Kansas City via Dallas) 226 Cincinnati 227 Miami 228 New York Jets (from Dallas via Buffalo and Las Vegas) 229 Tampa Bay 230 Pittsburgh (from Indianapolis) 231 Atlanta 232 LA Rams (from Baltimore) 233 Jacksonville (from Detroit) 234 Minnesota 235 Minnesota (from Carolina) 236 Green Bay 237 Pittsburgh 238 Miami (from LA Chargers via Tennessee and New York Jets) 239 Chicago (from Philadelphia via Jacksonville and Cleveland) 240 Jacksonville 241 Chicago 242 New York Jets (from Buffalo via Cleveland) 243 Houston (from San Francisco) 244 Minnesota (from Houston) 245 Jacksonville (from LA Rams via Houston) 246 Denver 247 New England 248 Cleveland (from Seattle) 249 Indianapolis 250 Baltimore 251 LA Rams 252 LA Rams 253 Baltimore 254 Indianapolis 255 Green Bay 256 Denver 257 Denver
It makes some sense. The Rams don’t expect to pick in the top half of the first round again any time soon. They’re slap-bang in the middle of the championship window, with the best roster in the league. If they believe Simpson can be a viable starter, it will extend that window beyond the career of Matthew Stafford, who has toyed with retirement and has only one or two years left in the league.
But taking a flier on Simpson at No 13 was a reach. He is a historic outlier in size, weight and starting experience. The history of quarterbacks arriving with so little tape is gnarly. Only one quarterback has made a Pro Bowl with 15 or fewer college starts: Mitchell Trubisky, whom the Bears couldn’t wait to move on from after four seasons. And the history of quarterbacks who play at 6ft1in, 211lb or under is just as grim. The only quarterbacks who’ve had success at that size have been either electric athletes or Drew Brees, one of the most accurate passers in the history of the league. Simpson is neither.
Related: NFL draft 2026: Mendoza goes No 1 as Rams surprise with move for QB Ty Simpson at No 13
Simpson is talented. In college, he was asked to do professional quarterback things, playing in a pro-style system and running the show from the line of scrimmage. You can see why the Rams would fall in love with his intellect, toughness and his willingness to push the ball down the field. All those skills map well to McVay’s offense; Simpson rips it over the middle of the field, and McVay’s offense is designed to generate those throws.
The rest, however, is pure projection. Simpson lacks any elite tool. Inexperienced college starters are usually selected highly because they have an athletic super-skill. Simpson doesn’t. On the continuum of quarterbacks, he is closer to Mac Jones or Brock Purdy than he is to Stafford.
Simpson isn’t just short, he’s light. He lacked the body armour to survive a 12-game college season. How will it hold up over a 17-to-23-game schedule against NFL size and speed? We don’t need to theorize. Last year, he took too many blows, and a rib injury wrecked his second half of the year. After looking like one of the best quarterbacks in college football over the first eight weeks of the season, he fell apart as the hits and injuries mounted up.
Pairing up with McVay and learning from Stafford is the ideal landing spot for Simpson. It beats landing with the Jets or Cardinals, the other teams with serious interest. With some time behind the scenes, perhaps he can bulk up. But he needs reps against live competition, and with Stafford still at the peak of his powers, that isn’t coming any time soon.
The Cowboys entered day one with two first-round picks and a clear mandate: to fix their defense. Last year’s unit was a disaster. Thursday night was a great step in correcting that.
Dallas traded up one spot to select Ohio State safety Caleb Downs. It’s a home run pick. Downs was the best all-around player in the draft, a do-everything safety who can cover from the slot or deep down the field, bang away against the run in the box and is a weapon as a blitzer. He was the best read-and-react defender in college football, leading a Buckeyes defense that had Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles, two top-seven picks in the draft, in tackles and splash plays. Downs will also add some much-needed playmaking and versatility to Dallas’ re-made unit.
In the era of Kyle Hamilton, Brian Branch, Jalen Pitre and Nick Emmanwori, safety/slot value should have gone out the window. But Downs’ slide proves the league continues to overlook the value of hybrid players in the secondary. Hamilton, Pitre, Branch and Emmanwori all slipped in the draft. Each of them is now a linchpin piece for the league’s best defenses, putting stuff on the menu that other defenses cannot access. As a prospect, Downs stacks up with all of them. He lacks Hamilton’s size, but he is a more blurry athlete who can create carnage all over the field.
And the Cowboys weren’t done there. With their second pick in the first round, they traded back and still picked up one of the top edge-rushing prospects in the class, UCF’s Malachi Lawrence. Lawrence brings juice off the ball. He’s a speed-bend pass-rusher who moves a little like former Cowboys great DeMarcus Ware. Lawrence isn’t as refined as Rueben Bain or Akheem Mesidor, two of the three edge-defenders selected ahead of him, but he has a shot to be the most impactful pass-rusher from this year’s class.