Hall of Fame RB says Rams 'did the right thing' by drafting Ty Simpson

Finding a franchise quarterback isn’t easy, especially when your team is regularly winning 10-plus games. The Los Angeles Rams have their guy in Matthew Stafford but his time in the NFL is dwindling, which is why they made the decision to draft Ty Simpson 13th overall in April.

>Many questioned the decision but Hall of Fame running back Jerome Bettis completely understands the move. Having seen the Pittsburgh Steelers fail to find a successor to Ben Roethlisberger, he thinks the Rams were smart to draft Simpson when they did. He told DJ Siddiqi of Action Network that while it’s possible Stafford could play several more years, there’s also a chance he retires after this season.

>“There was talk of retirement a year ago, two years ago, so it could go either way,” Bettis said. “From an organizational standpoint, do you want to take the chance of not having a quarterback for the future. I think what they're doing is the right thing. You've seen the organization that did it that way, you look at Kansas City, you look at Green Bay, you look at some of the teams that did it the way that the Rams are doing it. You can't knock what the Rams have done, because when you look at teams, for instance, you look at the Steelers. They were playing for championships, and did they ever think about the quarterback position? They did not, not until Ben was in the latter part of his career.

>“And by that point they were still good enough to win games, but they didn't have the opportunity to be high in the draft. That's the scenario that you deal with, and when you don't have that luxury, you wish you had it, and that's what's happening now with the Steelers. But the Rams, I think they did the right thing.”

>The Rams had no glaring holes on their roster entering the draft, which was thanks to their efforts to solidify the cornerback position and other spots in free agency. They were drafting for depth, and knowing that, Bettis thinks they were wise to add to the most important position in the game.

>“When you're drafting for depth, where do you want the best depth?” he said. “At the quarterback position? So they did exactly what they were supposed to do. You draft for depth when you're a championship team, and the quarterback position is where you ultimately need the best depth over the course of the season, because when you lose your starting quarterback, you're in big trouble unless you've got depth right. You got another really good player right behind him, and that's what they've done.”

>Simpson will need to compete with Stetson Bennett for the backup quarterback position this season. He certainly has more upside than Bennett as a future starter, but it remains to be seen which young quarterback will back up Stafford.

>Long-term, this could be Simpson’s team after Stafford retires, and he’ll be more prepared to take over after sitting and learning for a year or two behind the reigning MVP.

>This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Hall of Fame RB says Rams 'did the right thing' by drafting Ty Simpson