The Rams Drafted Ty Simpson At No. 13. What Happens When Teams Take A QB In Round 1 With A Starter Already In Place?

The surprise of the 2026 NFL draft undoubtedly came at No. 13, when a Rams organization that had been popularly linked to options at wide receiver and offensive tackle instead drafted Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson. A team that came within a few snaps of advancing to the Super Bowl with a 38-year-old quarterback could have added a player to help get over the top and win a title. Instead, it drafted a long-term replacement for reigning MVP Matthew Stafford. To some, this was a stroke of genius. Others had the same reaction Sean McVay appeared to have in his news conference after the selection, which landed somewhere between scorn and confusion. It'll take a few years before we know whether the decision to draft Simpson was a good one, but what we can say for sure is that this represents a very aggressive move from an organization that typically has no qualms about making those calls. They don't all work out, but the Rams have had more hits than misses under McVay and general manager Les Snead over the past decade.

The Rams, of course, are not the first team to draft their new quarterback long before their old quarterback was done. The Packers have made a habit of this very move before dumping their old quarterbacks on the Jets. Today, though, I wanted to take a more comprehensive look at the past. What happens when a team unexpectedly takes a QB in the first round with a starter already in place? How often do those moves succeed? And how long does it take before the guy who was supposed to be the long-term answer under center gets replaced by the new quarterback in town?

To answer those questions, I'm going to look back at 12 situations from the past 30-plus years of the NFL draft to see what happened when teams unexpectedly went for quarterbacks in Round 1. Keep in mind that we're evaluating teams at the time they made their moves as opposed to simply from a historic perspective. So while the Chargers drafting Eli Manning (and then trading him for Philip Rivers) might have been shocking given the presence of Drew Brees on their roster, remember that the future Saints star was struggling early in his career before turning things around in 2004.

I'll go in chronological order from most recent to least. And when I'm done, I'll sum up what we've seen and wonder what that means for Simpson, Stafford and the Rams.

**Michael Penix Jr.-Kirk Cousins, Falcons**

Year: 2024 Selection: No. 8 Veteran's age: 36 Games started before takeover: 14 Result: TBD

Here's the most unique case on this list and one that should be freshly familiar to NFL fans. The Falcons signed Cousins to a four-year, $180 million deal in free agency, guaranteeing the veteran quarterback $90 million at the time of signing. Cousins hadn't taken a snap in a Falcons uniform and was coming off a torn Achilles, but the contract made it clear that the Falcons were going to give Cousins the reins for the next two years, if not longer. Then they drafted Penix with the eighth overall pick. Cousins, understandably, was blindsided. The Falcons installed Cousins as their starter to open the season, even as the veteran was barely able to drop back and move around the pocket. He managed a 509-yard, four-touchdown game in Week 5 and was playing solid football by midseason, but a shoulder injury torpedoed his arm strength. Cousins threw nine picks in a five-game span and was benched for Penix by mid-December. Penix was limited to nine games in 2025 by a torn ACL, and the Falcons are still evaluating what they have in him. From his perspective, this is really still incomplete. But the process of signing Cousins and drafting Penix less than two months later? That's a mess.

Verdict: Disaster (so far)

**Jordan Love-Aaron Rodgers, Packers**

Year: 2020 Selection: No. 26 Veteran's age: 36 Games started before takeover: 50 Result: Love inherited the starting job, Rodgers got traded to the Jets

You probably don't require too many reminders of the most recent case of a team with a Hall of Fame quarterback unexpectedly using a first-round pick on his replacement. After injuries and a stagnant offense had slowed Rodgers in the final years of the Mike McCarthy era, coach Matt LaFleur's arrival was a shot in the arm. Rodgers made it to the Pro Bowl in 2019, as the Packers improved from 6-9-1 the prior year to 13-3 in the young coach's first season with Green Bay. When the Packers came within a game of making the Super Bowl, it seemed obvious that general manager Brian Gutekunst would use the draft to add players around Rodgers before the future Hall of Famer ran off into the sunset. When Gutekunst traded up from No. 30 to 26 at the end of Day 1, it seemed like a move for one of the top wideouts on the board, a list that included Tee Higgins and Michael Pittman Jr. Instead, it was to get Love, a Utah State product who had led the nation in interceptions during his final year at school. Of course, Rodgers had been in this very situation at the beginning of his career, a story we'll get to later. He responded by turning back the clock, winning his third and fourth MVP awards immediately after the decision to draft Love. Rodgers started 50 of 51 possible games over Love's first three years in the league, with a spot start for Love after Rodgers tested positive for COVID-19 as the lone exception. Love threw just 85 passes between 2020 and 2022. After an 8-9 season in 2022, though, the Packers decided to make their move. Rodgers was sent to the Jets for draft picks for what would be an ill-fated stay in New York. Love entered the starting lineup and made the job his own by the end of his first year, leading the Packers back to the postseason. He ranks fifth in the league in Total QBR since taking over as the full-time starter in 2023. It's impossible to say whether the decision to draft Love lit a fire under Rodgers, but it's hard to argue with the results. Rodgers was an elite quarterback in two of his three years after the selection, and the Packers got meaningful draft capital for dealing him to New York. Love stepped right in and quickly emerged as a franchise quarterback.

Verdict: Wild success

**Lamar Jackson-Joe Flacco, Ravens**

Year: 2018 Selection: No. 32 Veteran's age: 33 Games started before takeover: 9 Result: Jackson took over before the end of his first season for an injured Flacco

The transition from Flacco to Jackson, on the other hand, wasn't managed anywhere near as smoothly. After unexpectedly leading the Ravens to a Super Bowl in his contract year, Flacco was able to extract a massive deal from then-GM Ozzie Newsome to stick around in Baltimore. The hope was naturally that Flacco could build on his incredible Super Bowl run in 2012 and his annual trips to the postseason to reach new heights, but after five consecutive trips to the playoffs during his rookie deal, Flacco made just one playoff run over the next five seasons. Newsome traded into the bottom of Round 1 to land Jackson. While the Louisville quarterback had already won a Heisman Trophy, some skeptics suggested that Jackson's future at the professional level was at another position, including a Chargers scout who asked Jackson to run wide receiver routes at the combine. Jackson refused, but just about everybody in the NFL passed on him in Round 1, including the Ravens, who took tight end Hayden Hurst at No. 25. Over the first half of the season, the Ravens used Jackson in a situational role for about 10 offensive snaps per game. At 4-5, there were calls to insert Jackson into the lineup for Flacco, but even as the threat of a potential firing loomed overhead, John Harbaugh didn't seem to be in a rush to get his first-rounder into the mix. It was only when Flacco was sidelined by a hip injury that the Ravens gave Jackson his first career start in Week 10 against the Bengals. Jackson never looked back. The dynamic quarterback won six of seven games down the stretch to sneak the Ravens into the playoffs and likely save Harbaugh's job in the process. The same skeptics suggested that Jackson was exposed in a playoff loss to the Chargers, only for Jackson to respond by winning the first of his two MVP awards the following season. Flacco never threw another pass in a Ravens uniform and was traded to the Broncos for a fourth-round pick after the season. Jackson hasn't followed in Flacco's footsteps by winning a Super Bowl, but he's in the middle of a Hall of Fame career.

Verdict: Wild success

**Patrick Mahomes-Alex Smith, Chiefs**

Year: 2017 Selection: No. 10 Veteran's age: 32 Games started before takeover: 15 Result: Mahomes took over after sitting for most of one season

They don't all go this smoothly! While there were certainly Chiefs fans frustrated with their offense after a late penalty cost them a playoff win over the Steelers the prior season, Smith had more than exceeded expectations in Kansas City. After a topsy-turvy time in San Francisco, Smith joined up with Andy Reid and delivered consistently solid work under center for the Chiefs. If anything, Smith might have been coming off his best season in 2016, with the 2005 first overall pick earning his second Pro Bowl nod. It was stunning, then, when the Chiefs traded up from No. 27 to 10 to take Mahomes, giving up a third-rounder and their first-round pick in 2018. They jumped ahead of the Saints, who were debating between Mahomes and cornerback Marshon Lattimore as their pick approached at No. 11. The Saints had one of the best drafts of the past quarter-century that weekend, adding Lattimore, Trey Hendrickson, Alvin Kamara and others, but landing Mahomes might have made it the best draft in NFL history. It also would have kicked off a parallel universe in which Mahomes took over for Drew Brees, which would have been a candidate for this column. Mahomes sat for the first 15 games of his rookie campaign before debuting with the Chiefs' backups on offense in a meaningless Week 17 win over the Broncos. Reid didn't call on his new pupil during a frustrating loss in the wild-card round to the Titans, which was Smith's final game in a Chiefs uniform. He was traded to Washington for cornerback Kendall Fuller and a third-round pick. Well, you know what happened next. Mahomes was a revelation in his second season, winning league MVP. He led the Chiefs to five Super Bowls over his first seven years as a starter, taking home three trophies, before a shockingly rough 2025 season ended with Mahomes tearing an ACL. Mahomes, now 30, is the face of the NFL. Smith suffered a career-altering leg injury in his first season with Washington and missed all of 2019 while rehabbing the injury before defying the odds to return in 2020.

Verdict: Wild success

**Carson Wentz-Sam Bradford, Eagles**

Year: 2016 Selection: No. 2 Veteran's age: 29 Games started before takeover: 0 Result: Bradford got traded before the start of the subsequent season

This move came out of a regime change in Philadelphia. Chip Kelly won a power struggle with Howie Roseman and the front office the prior year, landing him personnel control. During an ill-fated lone season at the helm, Kelly made significant changes to the roster, most notably trading quarterback Nick Foles with second- and fourth-round picks to the Rams for Bradford and a fifth-rounder. Kelly then reportedly attempted to sign Bradford to a contract extension, but after going 10-for-10 in the preseason as the Eagles' quarterback, Bradford priced himself out of a new deal. The regular-season performance didn't live up to the preseason hype. Bradford started 14 games for an Eagles team that missed the playoffs, leading to the firing of Kelly, the arrival of Doug Pederson and Roseman's return to personnel control. The longtime general manager subsequently undid most of Kelly's decisions, trading away free agent additions Byron Maxwell and DeMarco Murray. With Bradford approaching unrestricted free agency, though, Roseman signed his quarterback to a two-year, $36 million deal to stick around. He also added veteran backup Chase Daniel on a three-year, $21 million contract when that represented a significant salary for a No. 2 quarterback, seemingly giving the Eagles their one-two punch under center in what was going to be a transitional year for the organization. And then Roseman got dealing. He sent Maxwell and Kiko Alonso to the Dolphins to jump from No. 13 to 8 before sending multiple first-round picks to the Browns and landing at No. 2. Six days after the Rams dealt all the way up to the first pick to get Jared Goff, the Eagles put themselves in position to land Wentz with the second selection. And suddenly, they had three quarterbacks. Bradford was furious and requested a trade before the draft. The Eagles kept him on the roster and insisted he was their starting quarterback in the short term, but when Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater went down with a serious knee injury that summer, Roseman struck. He landed first- and fourth-round picks from the Vikings for the estranged quarterback, with the latter eventually turning into Super Bowl winner Josh Sweat. It arguably worked out well for everyone involved. Bradford had his best season as a pro with the Vikings before injuries derailed his career for good. Daniel collected more than $11 million for the one pass he threw in an Eagles uniform. Wentz showed promise as a rookie and then broke out with an MVP-caliber season in Year 2, only to be derailed late in the year by a torn ACL. The Eagles replaced Daniel with Foles, who came full circle as part of this trade and famously led Philly to the Super Bowl. Wentz's long-term tenure with the Eagles ended up being more of a roller coaster than anyone could have expected, but this transition went well for Roseman.

Verdict: Wild success

**Blaine Gabbert-David Garrard, Jaguars**

Year: 2011 Selection: No. 10 Veteran's age: 33 Games started before takeover: 0 Result: Garrard was released at the end of training camp

Well, they're not all league-altering moves. Garrard wasn't a superstar or future Hall of Famer like Stafford and Rodgers, but he had spent the prior four seasons as the primary starter in Jacksonville, making it to the Pro Bowl in 2009. Garrard went 8-6 as the starter in 2010, but the Jags lost both of the games he missed and came up short of the postseason. There was a perception entering 2011 that Garrard needed to elevate his game to ensure that he stuck as the long-term quarterback in Jacksonville. Gabbert, meanwhile, wasn't supposed to end up in Florida.