Rams’ Ty Simpson projected to throw 21-times fewer passing yards than Fernando Mendoza originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Los Angeles Rams took Ty Simpson with the 13th pick of the 2026 NFL Draft, and did so with the future after Matthew Stafford in mind.
For at least the 2026 season, Stafford will be the starter. Simpson will likely sit on the bench for much of, if not all of, his rookie season.
But what could Simpson actually do in his rookie year? ESPN’s Mike Clay projected that Simpson, in his rookie season, would actually get some NFL action, but throw for 21-times fewer passing yards than fellow first-round pick Fernando Mendoza.
Ty Simpson projected to have 21-times fewer yards than Fernando Mendoza
“146 passing yards, one touchdown pass, one interception (5 rushing yards),” Clay projected for Simpson.
Such a projection for Simpson isn’t that great at all, but it does feel realistic for what could happen, which likely is a Week 18 start with the Rams resting Stafford for the playoff run.
The comparison to Mendoza with the Las Vegas Raiders, the only other QB taken in the first round, is a brutal one.
“3,066 passing yards, 15 touchdowns, 10 interceptions (229 rushing yards, two touchdown runs),” Clay projects.
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While Mendoza was always going to have more production than Simpson in their respective rookie years, seeing these two projections side-by-side, it makes things look a lot worse.
Mendoza is projected to throw for 3,066 passing yards, which is exactly 21 times more than the 146-yard projection for Simpson. Add in the 224-rushing-yard difference and the 16-TD difference, and their projections are vastly different.
Simpson’s projection likely involves a game or two of mop-up duties and a one-week role to close out the year, whereas Mendoza’s projection likely has him taking over early in the season for Kirk Cousins and not relinquishing the starting job.
These two projections were always going to be vastly different. But, with Mendoza projected to have 21-times more passing yards than Simpson in 2026, it’s hard not to feel even more so that the 13th pick was a mistake.
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