Falcons' pick may help Rams draft new franchise QB (and Terry Fontenot is to blame)

During his five seasons as the general manager of the Atlanta Falcons, Terry Fontenot was the king of making bad decisions. He failed to hit on QB despite taking multiple swings, gave up too much to trade up for James Pearce Jr., and has left behind a massive mess for Ian Cunningham to clean up.

The Pearce trade looked bad at the time, and now it looks even worse after his arrest. The Los Angeles Rams have the Falcons' 2026 first round pick now, which means they'll be picking 13th in April, and per ESPN's Louis Riddick, the Rams could look to use that pick on a potential successor for Matthew Stafford.

According to Riddick, that man could be Ty Simpson. The Rams will still have some good years out of reigning MVP Matthew Stafford, but now that he's entering his age-38 season, he isn't getting any younger, and there are some similarities between the two that may certainly entice Sean McVay.

""I know personally [the Rams] like Ty Simpson. When you look at his skillset and you think about his makeup, that's exactly what they're looking for.""

Louis Riddick

SImpson had an up-and-down senior season at Alabama, but is still the undisputed QB2 in this draft class behind Fernando Mendoza. The 23-year-old is almost guaranteed to be drafted in the top 20 of the 2026 NFL Draft because if he makes it past the Rams, one of the Jets or Steelers will take him.

Terry Fontenot trading up for James Pearce Jr. could be the reason the Rams draft Ty Simpson

Simpson is a polarizing QB prospect, but it's not hard to see Riddick's point. He is a really good processor, which is something a quarterback needs to thrive in McVay's system. He also has good mechanics, a solid pocket presence, and solid touch, even if his arm strength isn't Mahomes-like.

The problem with Simpson is that he's a bit undersized, got worse as the season went on, and has only one season of starting experience at a school where playing alongside elite weapons masked the flaws of QBs like Bryce Young, Mac Jones, and Tua Tagovailoa in the last half-decade alone.

Honestly, McVay and this Rams offense could get star potential out of any QB with even a basic understanding of how to read a defense, but Simpson is smart. Like Stafford, he isn't overly mobile, but his arm isn't as strong as his, so even though he isn't super seasoned, he doesn't need to be yet.

If they draft Simpson, he would be given at least a year to sit behind Stafford, which could help McVay develop him in the interim. Stafford also comes with a lengthy injury history, so while he's sitting and adapting to the NFL world, they can implement the Packers' model that worked with Jordan Love.

Thanks to the Falcons' mistakes, the Rams won't pick this high in the NFL Draft for a long time, so drafting Simpson with a long-term vision in mind makes a lot of sense.