The Los Angeles Rams’ selection of Ty Simpson flies in the face of the team’s “all in” approach at first glance. But what if taking Simpson opens up new avenues for LA to grow even more aggressive in their roster build?

Rookie quarterback contracts remain one of the biggest competitive advantages from a salary cap perspective in football. Matthew Stafford has enjoyed nearly annual contract refreshes since he relocated to Los Angeles, and soon the team will see that burden come off the books.

Early discussions surrounding the 2027 NFL Draft class are dominated by quarterback talks. The Rams are likely outside of these conversations now that Simpson is in the building. We know that teams didn’t want to trade next year’s first round pick when the crop of prospects is overall more talented and quarterback-needy teams will maneuverer the board in order to fill needs.

Is it time for the Rams to again zig while the rest of the league zags? LA seems well-positioned to part with their first round pick either in a 2026 trade up or in exchange for a veteran.

We also cannot ignore the fact that many important Rams are nearing the end of their contracts. In some ways LA was forced to pivot to the rookie quarterback window or otherwise they’d be in jeopardy of watching very talented players leave in free agency. Simpson allows the team to potentially keep together the core of:

There are a couple ways the team could get more aggressive now that we have more information on their draft plan. Let’s further evaluate a few options.

It’s no secret the Rams have dreams to hoist the Lombardi Trophy at the end of this season. They still have needs at key positions including receiver, corner, offensive line, and linebacker.

Currently LA is slated to pick twice on Friday and then they effectively have four seventh round picks late Saturday. That’s really only two chances to fill these needs in a meaningful way, and that means some positions that could use improvement will go unaddressed.

So throw caution to the wind and move up early in the second round by trading away the 2027 first. Denzel Boston is the top receiver remaining on the board and would provide a means to futureproofing Davante Adams’ role at receiver. While there is not an immediate need at corner, there are more options available at the top of the second than the Rams had at #13.

On the surface it will be tough to fit another costly veteran on the roster in 2026; however, the Rams could get creative to backload in future years when they have more salary cap space. It feel somewhat unlikely that a trade could occur on draft day; however, there are notable rumors surrounding George Pickens, AJ Brown, Kyle Pitts, and others.

All three of the Cowboys, Eagles, and Falcons could be interested in a quarterback in 2027. They’d probably like to have extra ammunition headed into that draft class. As of yesterday, the Rams no longer need it.