Maurice Jones-Drew made his pick clear, and it wasn’t the quarterback most expected. Appearing on an NFL Network preseason wrap-up segment, the former Pro Bowl running back turned analyst was asked a simple question: which rookie impressed him the most this preseason?
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“For me, I’m going to go with Ty Simpson,” Jones-Drew said on NFL Network. “There was all this, ‘Oh, he’s a bust. He’s not going to play. Why did you do this.’ And then he showed his athleticism. He got the ball out quickly, went to the checkdown, didn’t force anything, didn’t turn the ball over. That’s what you’re looking for out of a young quarterback.
“I just thought he played the best out of all the young quarterbacks. And to me that’s what you’re looking for.”
His answer bypassed Indiana’s Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza in favor of Los Angeles Rams rookie Ty Simpson, who wasn’t even considered a lock to hear his name called in the first round back in April. He was drafted as the replacement for veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford, and was quickly labeled as one of the biggest fumbles for the team. Simpson came to the NFL with only one proper season as a starter in college football at Alabama, which was also marred by injury.
However, his preseason tape outshone that of the No. 1 pick, Fernando Mendoza. Simpson finished the preseason 47-of-60 for 382 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions in three games. He posted a 109.9 passer rating as the Rams went 3-0. He saved one of his best plays for the finale against the Chargers.
On third-and-3, Simpson rolled to his left before finding Brennan Presley for an 11-yard touchdown. He finished that game 18-of-23 for 119 yards through the air.
Head coach Sean McVay came away impressed with how his rookie handled the offense throughout the summer.
“I thought he took what the defense gave him. I thought he read the plays out, read with his feet. I thought he did a really good job overall,” McVay said.
Mendoza, meanwhile, has had a far different summer despite entering the league with a higher draft pedigree. He was locked for the No. 1 pick long before the 2025 college football season ended, and is expected to be the franchise quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders someday. However, the offseason has been tough for the star rookie.
His performance in preseason Week 3 drew a D grade from CBS Sports tracking the rookie quarterback class. Mendoza finished the preseason 25-of-40 for 240 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. In training camp, he reportedly struggled against first-team defense, and he mostly took second-team reps in the offense.
It is presumed that veteran Kirk Cousins will be the starter this year for the Raiders because Mendoza still has to work on himself. However, head coach Klint Kubiak still refuses to formally name his starter, despite the season opener only being a few days away.
“I still don’t think we need to name anybody,” he said after the loss to the San Francisco 49ers. “We have a lot to talk about at a lot of positions, so we want to watch the film and talk about everything as a staff.”
Simpson, by contrast, still sits behind veteran Matthew Stafford on the Rams’ depth chart. What he has shown this summer could also affect how the franchise views him after this season. He was expected to line up behind Stetson Bennett as QB3 on the depth chart, but who knows, he can even bag the QB2 spot.
Until the preseason finale, Simpson had been throwing short to intermediate passes. However, against the Chargers, the rookie tested his limits and impressed NBC analyst and former quarterback Chris Simms.
“I know he can throw to the back on the bootleg. Whoop-de-freaking-do. Yes, I want to see is he going to be special, elite NFL starting quarterback. I did think he let the ball go a little bit more last night, like threw some heat, where I went, ‘Okay, okay, Ty Simpson. That was a laser. All right, I like the way that looked. You saw some athletic ability.”
Ty Simpson is proving the Rams’ agenda correct and is looking like the first-round pick talent everyone expected Mendoza to be.
Simpson’s next test will be doing it when the games matter, rather than only against backups and players fighting for roster spots. His chance will come behind Stafford. Mendoza, meanwhile, has to make up some ground before he can seriously challenge Cousins for the starting job in Las Vegas.