Although the Los Angeles Rams belong to Matthew Stafford, rookie quarterback Ty Simpson and his development will certainly be the talk of training camp. First-round picks often dominate headlines when there is no real football to talk about. Simpson will be no exception.
What have we learned about Simpson through reports from Rams organized team activities (OTA’s)?
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The first and potentially most meaningful report came from defensive team captain Quentin Lake:
He can read the offense. Even coming in early, he’s been able to make all the throws that he needs to. Very calculated. I think one of the reasons why they liked him so much is he can anticipate things too, which I like.
I haven’t gone against him personally, but watching him from afar, he’s getting there. It’s starting to click, and I think it’s because of who he has around him. Like, you know, telling him what to do, who to look at. You know, you want… the quarterback nowadays is kind of a dead man’s art. You don’t have guys like Matthew Stafford or Aaron Rodgers. It’s just different nowadays.
Those guys can really pick up, read the defense. They always know what the defense is. It’s rare. But for Ty, having an MVP quarterback like I’ve been saying—it’s gonna help him add that ability.
Stafford, Simpson’s on-the-job trainer, also offered insight into how the rookie is developing.
I’m in there with him in the meeting room—on the practice field—trying to share as much knowledge as I can.
He’s a smart kid… He’s asked questions. I’ve been trying to get into those as honestly and thoroughly as I possibly can.
To Stafford’s credit, not all veteran quarterbacks are willing to mentor and aid their eventual replacements. It says a lot about Stafford knowing he’s in the later stages of his careers and tells us he wants to leave the Rams in a stronger position when he eventually decides he’s had enough. There may be no better player for Simpson to learn from. Stafford doesn’t win with physical tools in the way other elite quarterbacks do in the modern era. He’s an elite processor. Simpson has the potential to reach the same levels and will only be better from the time he spends with the veteran.
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Sean McVay hasn’t said much about the rookie, although he’s emphasized letting Simpson’s development occur organically. In OTA’s the coach said they particularly focused on his “command of the operation, ability to adjust, (and) process information”.
We’ve also seen reports regarding what Les Snead believes Simpson brings to the table. Per a report from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Snead said he likes Simpson’s “central nervous system” and “He just has the ability to figure out the game with his mind.”
Fans should not expect real updates surrounding on-field performance from OTA’s. Media often does not have access to these sessions, and ultimately all practices are meaningless until players put on pads in training camp.
The Rams also may view Simpson as being too valuable to put on the field during preseason. They may want to protect him from an injury like JJ McCarthy suffered as a rookie, ending his rookie season before it began. Exhibition games may also not tell us much about Simpson, either, given that teams run vanilla schemes on both sides of the ball.
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For now, all we have to go off of are the quotes from those close to the Rams and Simpson. At this point, the team is saying all the right things about their rookie quarterback. There are no major reasons to be concerned nor overly encouraged right now.
