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When the Los Angeles Rams selected Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson No. 13 overall in this year’s NFL Draft, fans, media, coaches and executives alike questioned the pick — why would a perennial Super Bowl-contending team with the reigning MVP use a first-rounder on a backup? Well, for the Rams, it was security that they could remain a powerhouse long after their Super Bowl-winning signal-caller Matthew Stafford, who will be 39 by the end of the season, calls it quits. In his lone season as the starter for Alabama, Simpson threw for 3,567 yards and scored 30 total touchdowns. On Saturday, he put many doubters to sleep in his NFL preseason debut against the Chiefs. “I thought he took what the defense gave him,” Rams head coach Sean McVay said. “I thought he read the plays out, read with his feet. I thought he did a really good job overall.” He finished his first start completing 84% of his passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns, leading the Rams to a 20-12 win. Simpson became the first player to pass for at least 190 yards and two touchdowns in their preseason debut since former Oklahoma Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 overall selection Baker Mayfield’s 2018 debut with the Cleveland Browns. His first touchdown was a dropoff to fellow rookie Dean Connors, who took it in from nine yards out. Later in the fourth, Simpson found Connors once again on a slant for a two-yard score. Connors played his college ball at Rice and Houston, where he totaled over 3,800 yards and totaled 31 touchdowns in four years. On his two touchdown drives, Simpson completed nine of 11 passes. Former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky said the rookie ran the offense in his first professional action. “Ty Simpson operated the Rams offense at a high clip,” Orlovsky said on The Pat McAfee Show. “The decision-making was really good and that’s what the Rams would have hoped for.” After the game, Simpson was praised by head coach Sean McVay in the locker room before breaking down the team huddle. “Ty Simpson was the best quarterback I saw all weekend,” Fox Sports personality Colin Cowherd said on his show. “Quarterback is set now and for the future.” Simpson will sit behind the reigning MVP Matthew Stafford for the foreseeable future, but he does have a chance to start the season as his backup if he can beat out former Georgia starter Stetson Bennett IV. Bennett started the game, completing four-of-six passes for 38 yards. “I really don’t get into that, honestly,” Simpson said. “I really just try to be the best version of myself I can be and compete with myself.”