Matthew Stafford is still the Rams’ quarterback, but the future has just become noisier. The most recent post-combine 2026 mock draft by Sports Illustrated projects Los Angeles as taking Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson with the No. 13 pick as the long-term successor to Stafford following a combine that had pushed his stock back into first-round consideration. That makes one projection a larger Rams argument: smart succession planning or an unwarranted distraction as Matthew Stafford can still win in the present.
Matthew Stafford’s Replacement? Rams Huge 2026 Draft Plan Revealed
The first clip jumps right into the fight. When you watch it the thing that grabs you is not just the idea of someone replacing Matthew Stafford. It is how fast this whole future-draft talk turned into a right-now conversation. People are already asking whether the Rams are playing it safe or quietly preparing to move on to what comes next.
Some fans think this is exactly how smart franchises stay competitive, especially with Matthew Stafford entering another season deep into his career and the Rams holding extra draft value from the Atlanta trade. Others think using a premium pick on a quarterback would be hard to justify for a roster that still has win-now pressure. And plenty are already mocking the idea because Ty Simpson’s stock has swung so much that the pick feels either visionary or way too early.
I chose this because it focuses directly on Ty Simpson as a Rams fit and makes the Matthew Stafford succession angle easier for new readers to understand.
2026 NFL Mock Draft: Rams take QB Ty Simpson at No. 13 with Stafford’s future in the air
The stakes get higher when the talk moves past one mock draft and becomes about who the team really is. If the Rams are actually serious about wanting Ty Simpson, then everything changes. Every little update about Matthew Stafford, every talk about his contract, every hope for the playoffs, all of it suddenly ties into one bigger question about timing.