Former Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson heard his name called in the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday night, being selected at No. 13 overall by the Los Angeles Rams.
Leading up to the draft, it was a question mark as to whether or not Simpson was going to be taken on night one, but ultimately, the body of work he put up during his lone season as a starter was enough to convince the Rams to take a chance on him with a high pick.
As far as a fit, it would have been hard to draw up a better landing spot for Simpson. As a relatively inexperienced player who has only 15 college starts to his name, throwing him into the fire for a bad team was always going to be a very difficult ask.
Instead, Simpson will get a chance to learn from the reigning NFL MVP and a future Hall of Famer in Matthew Stafford for a year or two and be able to get ready to take the reins after that.
Led by head coach Sean McVay — widely seen as one of the most brilliant offensive minds in the game — Simpson is going to get some of the best teaching possible both from the staff and a veteran quarterback playing in front of him, with no pressure on him to be ready to start anytime this season.
Simpson made his case to NFL teams in the weeks leading up to the draft why he should be someone they want to be their franchise quarterback, and clearly the Rams listened.
While fans may have to wait a year or two to actually see Simpson take over, this could pay off in a huge way down the line for Simpson and those who want to see him succeed.
Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP and hear him every weekday morning from 6 to 9 a.m. on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5, available free online.

