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The Rams Drafted a Quarterback. The Chargers Drafted Four Linemen.
Los Angeles’ two teams approached the 2026 draft from opposite directions. The Rams had the fewest picks of any team in the league — five — and spent the first on a quarterback. The Chargers made eight selections and used nearly all of them on the lines.
Ty Simpson, QB — Rams, No. 13, Alabama
The player. The Rams took Simpson 13th with an explicit eye on life after Matthew Stafford — the rare first-round quarterback drafted by a team that isn’t desperate at the position.
That’s the healthiest situation a rookie passer can land in. Simpson doesn’t have to play, doesn’t have to save anyone, and gets to learn behind a veteran with nothing riding on his development timeline.
The context. Only three quarterbacks went in the first two rounds of this entire draft, and none in the first eight picks. Fernando Mendoza went first to Las Vegas. Simpson went 13th. After that it was Carson Beck to Arizona at 65 and Drew Allar to Pittsburgh at 76.
Playing time projection. Backup, with preseason and situational work. The plan is 2027 or later.
Max Klare, TE — Rams, No. 61, Ohio State
The second-round tight end, in a draft where the position went heavily — eight came off the board in the second and third rounds.
Playing time projection. Rotational, with real snaps in two-tight-end sets.
The rest of a small class
Keagen Trost, OT (No. 93, Missouri), CJ Daniels, WR (No. 197, Miami) and Tim Keenan III, DT (No. 232, Alabama) complete the Rams’ five selections. Los Angeles also traded picks 207, 244 and 251 to Philadelphia for 197 on the final day.
Five picks is what happens when a front office has spent draft capital acquiring proven players. It also means every one of them matters more than usual.
Akeem Mesidor, EDGE — Chargers, No. 22, Miami
The Chargers’ first-round pick, and a straightforward one: pressure.
Playing time projection. Rotational pass rusher immediately, starter within the season.
Jake Slaughter, C — Chargers, No. 63, Florida
The second-rounder, and the start of a pattern. Los Angeles took three interior offensive linemen in this draft — Slaughter, plus Logan Taylor, G (No. 202, Boston College) and Alex Harkey, G (No. 206, Oregon) — along with tackle Travis Burke (No. 117, Memphis).
Four offensive linemen in one class is a front office that identified a single problem and solved it with volume.
Playing time projection. Slaughter has the clearest path to starting.
The Chargers’ skill and defense picks
Brenen Thompson, WR (No. 105, Mississippi State) adds speed to the receiver room. Genesis Smith, S (No. 131, Arizona) and Nick Barrett, DT (No. 145, South Carolina) fill out the defense.
Elsewhere in the NFC West
De’Zhaun Stribling, WR — San Francisco 49ers (No. 33). The first pick of the second round and an NFC West matter. San Francisco had no first-rounder, so Stribling is the whole class headline — and he’s been getting real preseason work.
Jeremiyah Love, RB — Arizona Cardinals (No. 3). The highest-drafted running back since Saquon Barkley, and another division rival. Love’s game is built on making one cut and exploding into the second level. Notre Dame lost both Love and Jadarian Price to this draft and doesn’t return a back who started a game last season.
Jadarian Price, RB — Seattle Seahawks (No. 32). Love’s Notre Dame teammate, taken 29 picks later to close the first round. The NFC West added two backs from the same college backfield in one night, which makes the comparison unavoidable.
Two teams, two timelines
Simpson’s preseason snaps, and nothing else on the Rams’ side. A quarterback drafted to wait is judged on practice reports and August reps until the day he isn’t.
For the Chargers, it’s whether four offensive linemen in one draft produces a functional front. Volume at a single position either fixes it or reveals that the problem was somewhere else.
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