Ty Simpson embracing the pressure of being Rams

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Rams shocked followers — and a lot of the NFL — when they chose quarterback Ty Simpson with the thirteenth decide in the NFL draft.

Simpson began only 15 video games at Alabama before the Rams ostensibly made him the eventual inheritor obvious to Matthew Stafford.

Now, after offseason exercises, two weeks of training camp and a few preseason practices, Simpson will get his first NFL recreation alternative when the Rams open the preseason against Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday at 1 p.m. PDT (CBS).

Fourth-year professional Stetson Bennett will start, but Simpson will play in the recreation.

“I’m really ready to show who I am,” Simpson said this week.

Simpson, 23, acknowledges the pressure that comes with his draft place, particularly for a crew that is favored to win Super Bowl LXI. But he doesn’t really feel it.

Not outwardly, anyway.

“I try to be as present as I can, and make sure every day I understand how much of a blessing it is knowing that I am the No. 13 pick and everything that comes with it,” Simpson said during training camp. “But also understanding that being here every day, and making the most out of every opportunity that I get, is everything I can ask for.”

Simpson began slow in the first few training camp exercises, but he appeared to break through when he stepped up in the pocket and accomplished a move across the center of the subject. Simpson said he had begun to “put the puzzle pieces together,” marrying ideas with classes realized watching Stafford and Bennett.

Star receiver Puka Nacua seen.

“His arm and the confidence that he’s throwing the ball with has definitely grown a ton,” since offseason exercises, Nacua said before the Rams broke camp. “I think he’s feeling more comfortable in the pocket, understanding and seeing more guys run routes.”

Said offensive coordinator Nate Scheelhaase: “You’ve certainly seen him go and make some throws and go and compete in a really cool way.”

During this week’s joint workout with the Dallas Cowboys, Simpson performed a few sequence, and accomplished a landing move during a red-zone period.

But there may be no tackling during practices. So Saturday will probably be Simpson’s first time experiencing NFL contact.

“It’s going to be a whole different lifestyle,” he quipped.

Coach Sean McVay doesn’t play starters or other projected important contributors during the preseason. In addition to Nacua and Davante Adams being held out, receivers Jordan Whittington and Konata Mumpfield also won’t play, McVay said.

Simpson’s fellow rookies — tight end Max Klare, offensive lineman Keagan Trost, receiver CJ Daniels and defensive lineman Tim Keenan — will play.

Scheelhaase will call performs.

This will probably be Bennett’s seventh — and most important — preseason start.

Jimmy Garoppolo is no longer on the roster and Stafford was on a restricted schedule during training camp, so Bennett labored with the first-team offense for the first time in his profession. The former Georgia star, who led the Bulldogs to two national titles, performed with confidence and made performs in his bid to show McVay and teammates that he can step in if Stafford is sidelined during the season.

McVay is trying to see how Bennett and Simpson handle the offense before and after the snap. He anticipates that both will use their mobility to make performs if the pocket collapses.

“Seeing some of that stuff come to life will be important,” McVay said. “But I think it’s got to occur naturally.”

Stafford, Bennett and quarterbacks coach Dave Ragone are among those who have eased Simpson’s transition to the NFL. As Simpson ready for Saturday’s recreation, Stafford supplied counsel.

“The best advice he gave me was, ‘Just go let it rip. It’s nothing that you haven’t done before,’” Simpson said.

But this will probably be the first time Simpson will do it as a professional.

Simpson anticipates that it will likely be “surreal” to put on his recreation jersey and fulfill a dream of enjoying in the NFL.

“There are going to be things that I mess up on,” he said. “I’m going to learn from them and move on, and next week be able to learn from it and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”