Grading Rams 2026 NFL Draft picks: Ty Simpson could be difference

PITTSBURGH — In the weeks and days leading up to the Rams executing their highest draft pick selection in a decade, they made an important conclusion.

No matter who they selected with the 13th overall pick in the first round, that player would have a difficult time cracking the starting lineup of one of the NFL’s most stacked rosters.

“I don’t know if you can ever take someone in the draft and say they’re going to come in and play, especially on a team like ours,” Rams general manager Les Snead said. “You have to come in. You have to earn equity. You have to earn trust before you’re going to get a jersey and help us on game day.”

The reality of that led them to an equally important decision. Barring the surprising fall of one of the top prospects in the draft — Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love or Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate, for instance — their first-round pick would be devoted to Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson, who was deemed a potential future star during the franchise’s draft evaluation process.

Given that no one they picked at No. 13 was a cinch to make a dramatic impact on their Super Bowl aspirations, they decided that pick would be better used to create a viable succession plan for quarterback Matthew Stafford, their 38-year-old future Hall of Famer who is essentially operating year to year.

That decision would ultimately shape their draft, the heavy emphasis being on the future and prompting them to select players at positions where they are well-stocked.

It might be two years before Simpson sees the field.

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Second-round tight end Max Klare from Ohio State walks into a crowded tight end room overflowing with talent. Yes, the Rams will continue to be a heavy three-tight-end alignment offense, but he has a fight on his hands pushing aside veterans Tyler Higbee, Terrance Ferguson, Davis Allen and Colby Parkinson.

At best, third-round Missouri tackle Keagen Trost will fill the Rams’ swing tackle position this year, but he could end up being the fourth tackle. It isn’t a question of talent; Trost has NFL starter capabilities. It’s the deep tackle room the Rams have in place.

The transient nature of the NFL, though, means the picture you take today can look far different 10 months from now.

Of those veteran tight ends, Allen and Parkinson are in the last year of their contracts. If neither gets extended, the Rams now have Klare in place to step in.

Trost might go from a redshirt season in 2026 to a starting role in 2027. Why? Well, aside from left tackle Alaric Jackson, every other tackle on their roster in playing on an expiring contract.

Life moves fast in the NFL, and if you’re not planning for the future, it’s liable to swallow you up and spit you out.

That doesn’t even take into account how that picture can change in one play, let alone one year. No matter how much this Rams draft is about planning for the future, that can all change in the blink of an eye.

“You could draft someone for the future, and there could be an injury,” Snead said. “It’s like, ‘Wait a minute. That was for the future, and now it’s now.”

That goes for Simpson and everyone else the Rams reeled in this weekend.

In an ideal world, the Rams will prudently bring their draft class along, remain open-minded about their sheer ability speeding up their timeline but also be content with pouring development time into them for a future payoff.

But ideal is rarely a reality in professional football. Chances are, a situation develops in which the Rams ask more from some of their rookie class sooner than anticipated.

The Rams closed their draft with two picks on Day 3, adding Miami wide receiver CJ Daniels in the sixth round and Alabama defensive tackle Tim Keenan III in the seventh.

Grade: B

If Simpson develops as the Rams hope and believe, this could end up being an A. Klare has a chance to be an early contributor.