The Los Angeles Rams selected quarterback Ty Simpson with the 13th pick in the NFL draft Thursday night.
Simpson, 23, becomes the likely successor in L.A. to Matthew Stafford, who is entering his 18th season. The 38-year-old Stafford, who won the NFL's MVP award in 2025, has not said how long he intends to play.
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Rams coach Sean McVay told Stafford on Thursday of the team's plan to take Simpson at No. 13, a pick they acquired from the Falcons during the 2025 NFL draft.
At the NFL's annual league meeting in March, McVay joked he doesn't "ever" think about life after Stafford, before saying the Rams think about it in the "short and long term."
"Two of the greatest minds in offense, especially with Coach McVay and the quarterbacks from an offensive standpoint," Simpson told ESPN after the Rams made the pick. "And then Matthew is just one of the greatest of all time. So, I'm looking forward to it."
The Rams are the first team to have a quarterback win MVP, then draft a quarterback in the first round of the next NFL draft since the Green Bay Packers in 1967; Bart Starr won MVP in 1966, and Green Bay drafted Don Horn 25th the following year.
The Rams had not selected a quarterback in the first round since trading up to draft Jared in Goff in 2016. According to ESPN Research, Simpson is just the third quarterback taken by the Rams in the first round in the common draft era, joining No. 1 overall picks Goff and Sam Bradford (2010).
Last season at Alabama, Simpson completed 64.5% of his passes for 3,567 yards and 28 touchdowns. He was widely considered the second-best quarterback in the draft behind Indiana's Fernando Mendoza, who was drafted by the Las Vegas Raiders with the No. 1 pick.
But Simpson's experience lacks; his 15 career college starts are the fourth fewest by any first-round QB over the last 25 years.
Schefter reported earlier this week that the Rams had been "eyeing" Simpson with the No. 29 pick before they traded that pick in early March to the Kansas City Chiefs as part of a package to acquire cornerback Trent McDuffie.
Along with Stafford, the Rams have quarterback Stetson Bennett IV on their roster. Bennett, who served as Los Angeles' third-string quarterback the past two seasons, was a fourth-round pick in 2023.