Legendary LA Rams left tackle Andrew Whitworth and I recently discussed several topics related to the franchise he won the Super Bowl with five years ago, in promotion of NBC's 2026 American Century Championship. Whitworth will be one of 90 celebrity golfers in the field at the Edgewood Tahoe Resort.
I asked the former LSU Tiger about two recent Rams draft picks this past April at the 2026 NFL draft, former Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson, a somewhat surprising No. 13 overall pick, and the team's third-round pick at No. 93, former Missouri Tigers offensive tackle Keagen Trost.
Whitworth sounds unsure about either SEC product getting time this season, though for different reasons.
"I don't really know how that will shake out..."
Whitworth was hesitant to crown Simpson the heir to Matthew Stafford's throne under center once the legendary Georgia Bulldogs product retires. In particular, Whitworth stressed that Stafford is still the guy in Los Angeles, and will be for as long as he pleases.
Still, the Simpson trade, as Whitworth notes, was a "chess move" to prepare for a future where the next few drafts won't provide opportunities to draft a QB because of the cost of the Myles Garrett trade.
"Yeah, I don't know really how that'll all shake out. I think we've seen it in the NFL now; the most recent example is Jordan Love in Green Bay, kind of being somebody that they drafted, knowing that they were going to try and keep Aaron Rodgers for as long as possible, and then there's going to be some version of a transition at some point. I think for the Rams, we kind of see the whole picture now, right? I think there's probably everyone's view from the draft to what that view is now to realize there was this Myles Garrett opportunity on the table, and some picks in the future were involved. Now you start to go, 'Wow, okay. What a move by (Les Snead) because it's not about, for sure, it's Ty Simpson who's the guy, as much as he becomes your guy for the future, we're going to lose some picks to pull off this insane trade to get one of the best players in the world,'" Whitworth said.
"So maybe in the future, we're not going to have the opportunity to draft a quarterback in the next couple of years really high in the draft. So, if we have the opportunity to grab a guy at the beginning, and he's a guy that we think is a really good football player, it's worth it. If the risk is worth taking him and just saying, 'Hey, you sit behind Matthew.' Matthew is going to play as long as he possibly wants to. He is their guy. But their hope is that we don't have to go spend another first-round pick in the next couple of years to have somebody that we think could be who's going to follow Matthew Stafford...
"So now that we've gotten this trade out of the way, I think people can go back and go, 'Oh wow, when you look at the timeline, they knew the Myles Garrett trade was probably more likely going to happen.' It was just a matter of figuring out the semantics, and now it kind of seems like a chess move. People might have reacted one way at the draft, and I think now they sit back and go, 'Man, they were able to get one of the best players in the world and fulfill a need for the future.' All this in a matter of two months, on a team that really came up a few plays short of being in the last Super Bowl, and have a chance to win the next Super Bowl. So, I think it was a pretty special offseason for them, but as we know, Andrew, nothing is won in the offseason."
"It's very rare for young tackles to come in and play really high-level football..."
As for Trost, a Mizzou product who also played as a swing tackle for the Morgan State Bears, Indiana State Sycamores, and Wake Forest Demon Deacons, Whitworth doesn't want to see him thrust too quickly into the fire by the Rams' coaching staff. Given Alaric Jackson's uncertain availability, Whitworth doesn't like the idea of Trost at left tackle.
"I just know the challenges as a young player... You see kids drafted in the top 10 still have years where, man, it's very rare for young tackles to come in and play really high-level football. Even the ones who just absolutely carry all the characteristics and physical traits that you think are going to be elite. It's still a big challenge, and they need to be in the right offenses in the right position to be successful. I think that'd be a lot to ask of a young guy. I would think that if something really ends up happening with Alaric where he's not available, that they will try to test that veteran market, or look for somebody who's at least played there for a little while, who can move over for a period of time," Whitworth told me.
"If it's a long time that he'll be out, then I would imagine they'd go after some veteran option. One thing we can pretty much bank on is that the Rams will make any move necessary to get who they need. So I wouldn't be shocked to see them trying to make a move if something happened with Alaric where he's not going to be available. Because I think for them, this team is too special and there's too much potential here to really put it all on some rookie. Now, listen, I don't think anybody's better than Kyle Shanahan and McVay at finding ways to protect their line and how they play-call and do things. But I think that would be a big ask to put a young kid like that on a team that's potentially trying to win a Super Bowl, not just be a good football team...
"I think they'll find other ways. But listen, you never know. Sometimes these guys emerge from the draft, and they're really special early. In training camp, when the pads are on, we'll really be able to tell that story more than anything they've seen at this point."
From the sounds of it, the Rams' recent day one and day two draft picks from the SEC probably won't get their shine as rookies. We've always known that about Simpson, with Stafford still running the team's offensive engine, but it could take time for Trost to crack the regular rotation in the offensive trenches as well.
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