play1:14Granderson: Pederson needs to embrace QB competitionThe “Around the Horn” crew share their thoughts on whether it’s the right move for Eagles coach Doug Pederson to keep QB Sam Bradford as the team’s starter even if he has not performed as well in OTAs as Carson Wentz.
play0:51Driver explains difference between Favre and RodgersFormer Packers wide receiver Donald Drive joins Mike & Mike to break down the differences between playing with Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers.
play0:25Ty Simpson looking forward to having Matthew Stafford as a mentorTy Simpson is excited to learn from Matthew Stafford in his next chapter with the Rams.
Domonique Foxworth: Rams’ selection of Ty Simpson is a ‘risky bet’ (1:57)Dan Graziano and Domonique Foxworth detail why the Rams’ decision to draft Ty Simpson in the first round isn’t expected to pay off immediately. (1:57)
Granderson: Pederson needs to embrace QB competitionThe “Around the Horn” crew share their thoughts on whether it’s the right move for Eagles coach Doug Pederson to keep QB Sam Bradford as the team’s starter even if he has not performed as well in OTAs as Carson Wentz.
The “Around the Horn” crew share their thoughts on whether it’s the right move for Eagles coach Doug Pederson to keep QB Sam Bradford as the team’s starter even if he has not performed as well in OTAs as Carson Wentz.
Driver explains difference between Favre and RodgersFormer Packers wide receiver Donald Drive joins Mike & Mike to break down the differences between playing with Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers.
Former Packers wide receiver Donald Drive joins Mike & Mike to break down the differences between playing with Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers.
Ty Simpson looking forward to having Matthew Stafford as a mentorTy Simpson is excited to learn from Matthew Stafford in his next chapter with the Rams.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
Jordan Love talked with Aaron Rodgers after being selected by Packers
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
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
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.
Granderson: Pederson needs to embrace QB competition
Year: 2011 Selection: No. 10 Veteran’s age: 33 Games started before takeover: 0 Result: Garrard was released at the end of training camp
Gabbert, meanwhile, wasn’t supposed to end up in Florida. While Cam Newton came off the board with the first pick, a predraft poll of NFL executives by writer Bob McGinn suggested that Gabbert was the best quarterback available in that year’s class, ahead of Jake Locker, Christian Ponder and Colin Kaepernick. The 49ers and new head coach Jim Harbaugh were widely believed to be interested in drafting Gabbert with the seventh pick.
Instead, the 49ers used that pick on Aldon Smith and their second-rounder on Kaepernick, who led them to a Super Bowl. The Jaguars traded up from No. 16 to No. 10 to select Gabbert. “I know nobody saw that coming!” tweeted Garrard at the time. Nobody might have been blindsided more than the Jaguars’ starter.
Year: 2006 Selection: No. 11 Veteran’s age: 31 Games started before takeover: 16 Result: Plummer retired after declining a trade
Sundquist and coach Mike Shanahan weren’t running Plummer out the door, but a move helped them quietly climb up the draft board. They became the third party in a trade with the Falcons and Jets for John Abraham, jumping up from No. 29 to 15 in the process. On draft day, the Broncos were open to adding Matt Leinart or Cutler, but after Leinart came off the board at No. 10, the Broncos sent a third-round pick to the Rams to grab Cutler at No. 11.
Plummer started 7-4 the following season, but with the offense struggling to consistently move the ball, Shanahan controversially benched Plummer for the rookie. Cutler posted an 88.5 passer rating in his five-start cameo, but the Broncos went 2-3 and missed out on the postseason.
Year: 2005 Selection: No. 24 Veteran’s age: 35 Games started before takeover: 48 Result: Favre played three more seasons before “retiring”
Driver explains difference between Favre and Rodgers
Year: 2004 Selection: No. 22 Veteran’s age: 32 Games started before takeover: 16 Result: Bledsoe was released after one season
Oh, and the pick they sent to the Cowboys? It turned into future ESPN commentator Marcus Spears. If the Bills had held on to that selection, they would have been in position to draft Aaron Rodgers when he fell in 2005.
Year: 1999 Selection: No. 11 Veteran’s age: 36 Games started before takeover: 6 Result: Cunningham was benched for another player
The late-1990s Vikings were unique, as they generally produced good to great offenses with a range of quarterbacks. Brad Johnson was the primary starter in 1997, but when he was injured early in the 1998 season, Cunningham took over and turned back the clock. With Cris Carter and Randy Moss at wideout, Cunningham produced a stunning season, throwing for 3,704 yards and 34 touchdowns in 15 games. He finished second in MVP balloting behind Terrell Davis and was a first-team All-Pro.