NFL Network’s Charles Davis on Whether Rams Should Draft ‘Bama QB Ty Simpson

NFL Network analyst Charles Davis came on The Rich Eisen Show to push back on the consensus that Ty Simpson is locked into the top of the first round, and the conversation became a referendum on what the Los Angeles Rams should and should not do with the thirteenth pick.

Davis told Rich flatly that Simpson is not going third. "Ty Simpson is not going three," Davis said, before sketching a scenario in which Arizona trades back, Simpson slides into the second round, and the Alabama quarterback gets the gift of sitting and learning behind a veteran. "I think the best thing in the world for Ty Simpson is if he goes in the second round," Davis said, citing Patrick Mahomes and Carson Palmer as rare examples of first-round quarterbacks who actually got to sit, and warning that most rookies do not get that runway before someone in the building demands they play.

The Rams angle came from Todd McShay's final Ringer mock, which had Simpson going thirteen to Los Angeles. Davis said he understood the logic. "Because of where Stafford is career-wise, where Sean McVay does with quarterbacks, there'd be zero pressure on that kid if he went 13," Davis said. He added that Los Angeles, as a market, simply does not generate the kind of weekly pressure that would suffocate a young quarterback in Philadelphia, New York, Boston, DC, or Pittsburgh.

Rich disagreed, and built a three-part case for why Simpson at thirteen makes no sense for the Rams. First, Matthew Stafford just played at an MVP level in a season that looked uncertain in the summer, and Rich argued there is no reason to start a clock the player has not asked them to start. Second, the Rams traded away their pick for Trent McDuffie and have no scheduled return trip to the thirteenth slot, which makes that selection too valuable to spend on a quarterback who would not play. Third, Rich said drafting Simpson would remove Los Angeles from the running for a Hall of Fame-track quarterback who might force his way out of his current team the moment Stafford retires. "Why would you want to remove yourself from that possibility if you were the Rams?" Rich asked.

Davis credited Rich's argument and pivoted to general manager Les Snead, who he said does not get the respect he deserves for rebounding from the picks-and-t-shirts era to win a Super Bowl, draft Jared Verse, and keep the Rams hosting in January. The two agreed Los Angeles is going for it again, just on a different timetable than the public assumes.