The ex-Pro Bowl quarterback is looking forward to the NFL Draft later this month as the Rams aim to beef up a roster that’s already Super Bowl caliber.
They select No. 13 overall by virtue of a trade with the Falcons, and Everett effortlessly discusses numerous potential prospects during a meandering 35-minute conversation.
Find a breakdown of the exclusive interview with Jim Everett below:
Everett's most interesting take: Ty Simpson to fill Matthew Stafford's shoes
Everett's most interesting take? The possibility of Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson as a succession plan for reigning MVP Matthew Stafford, who turned 38 in February.
For fans already looking ahead to draft positioning, futures movement and season-long markets around Los Angeles, it’s the kind of conversation that naturally overlaps with broader NFL betting interest, whether readers are comparing a bet365 bonus code ahead of the next wave of offseason action or checking a Sleeper promo code while monitoring how quarterback storylines shift prices across the board.
“I think Ty Simpson is pretty damn good,” Everett said in an exclusive interview. “I think he can play. And I think he comes from a family that has a mindset that Sean McVay loves. It’s been odd that there’s been zero talk about it. If they're thinking that Ty Simpson could be a possibility, I don't think you have to do it at pick 13. I think you have to do it before Pittsburgh's pick (at 21).”
Stafford is still elite, but it’s hard to know if injuries or the drive to play will slow him soon. The only other quarterback on the roster is the unproven Stetson Bennett.
“Where is Stetson Bennett at?” Everett said. “Where is he at in the world of development? We all don't know. It's like a big black hole.”
Everett acknowledges the risk with Simpson, whose one year of starting experience and other potential drawbacks has analysts debating whether he will be a first- or second-round pick.
“I think people have those Ryan Leaf vibes,” Everett said. “Am I gonna draft a guy that I can only really see under pressure for one year? I'm gonna get stuck with that. People love to see the four-year starter, the Peyton Manning, that comes from a bloodline.”
But Everett is undoubtedly intrigued. He raved about Stafford’s thirst for greatness and believes Simpson has the same quality.
“Matthew Stafford's an enthusiast, and I think that gives you a little insight on the type of guy Sean McVay wants to be his quarterback,” Everett said. “He wants an enthusiast. Not the guy that just wants to show up. He wants the guy that wants to show out. That's Matthew Stafford.
“Honestly, I think it's a little bit like Ty Simpson as well, and if I had to go out on a limb, that would be a guy that probably would remind me of a Sean McVay-type guy. I'm not saying he's gonna be all that. I'm just saying I think he has a work ethic.”
Everett: Wideout or offensive line most likely first-round pick
While a Simpson pick would certainly get the NFL world buzzing, Everett thinks the most likely scenario is wide receiver or offensive line at No. 13.
Davante Adams is 33 years old, while Puka Nacua recently entered rehab after multiple off-field incidents.
“There's no doubt Puka and Davante Adams are one of the best combos going, but Puka’s up for an extension,” Everett said. “One of the top receivers (Jaxon Smith-Njigba) just made $42 million per year, and (Nacua) has got some stuff that's going on, personal stuff. You’re like, ‘Dude, am I going to throw $40 million at that, or not?’
“Davante Adams says he may retire when Matthew Stafford retires. Well, we don't know when Matthew's gonna retire, but Davante's 33 now, right? 30-plus-year-old receivers don't maintain. There's a point where you have to bring them in the slot because they can't run. So you need some fresh legs out there.”
The most logical pick would likely be the offensive line, Everett said, by virtue of contract situations.
“Four of the five Rams’ offensive linemen are in the final year of their contract,” Everett said. “You can't negotiate with every single one of them, and you have no leverage if you don't have anybody that could possibly take their spot. A general manager is a general manager, not just this year, but hopefully for years. And so job security would mean I need to find somebody that I could put leverage on my right tackle, because I don't want to pay my right tackle $25 million next year.
“A rookie allows you to pay him a lot less for the first four, possibly five years, depending on options. So I think offensive lineman make fiscal sense. It makes sense as far as being in development. And then maybe if you get a guy like the Utah kid (Spencer) Fano, maybe he plays guard for a minute, right? He learns the system before he moves out. So I can easily see an offensive lineman there.”
Everett: Drake Maye MVP voters didn’t watch Stafford
Stafford needs 4,351 yards to surpass Everett as the all-time passing leader for the Rams, which could happen this season, but there is no jealousy emanating from the current record-holder.
Everett fervently defended Stafford’s narrow MVP win over Drake Maye, stating that the voting should not have been so close.
“People saying Drake Maye was the MVP, they weren’t watching West Coast games,” Everett said. “I moved to Texas, and for me to finish watching some games on the West Coast, I have to stay up until 12 to watch them. I guarantee you they ain't doing that in New England. So they have no f—— idea about Matthew Stafford because they all went to bed.”
Stafford is coming off a career year at 37 years old, an age where many other quarterbacks have started to slow down. Peyton Manning also won MVP at 37 but declined noticeably his final two seasons.
“Remember when we were watching Peyton Manning at the end of his career in Denver?” Everett said. “There were a couple times I was trying to get off the couch and just give him a little oomph on the ball. Like, ‘Come on Peyton, get it there.’ You’re not seeing that with Stafford. He’s doing no-looks. He is defining the position maybe moreso than any quarterback.
“Those no-look throws in the Super Bowl were sick. I've never seen such a thing. You talk to young quarterbacks and they go, ‘I want to throw like Matthew Stafford. I want to look left, throw right. I'm like, dude, you’ve got to know a lot of s— before you do that. But he's kind of redefining it, especially for the young guys.”
Everett is rooting for Stafford to surpass his franchise all-time yardage record in 2026.
“A healthy Matthew Stafford’s got it, and it’s all good,” Everett said. “I was worried last year when he said he had a bad back. I don't know where that's at because bad backs just don't go away. And of course, you're playing the NFL and anything can happen in the NFL. So let's all cross our fingers that nothing big happens because big s— happens every year to people.”
Everett: Liam Coen ‘wanted’ Purdue job in 2023, didn’t get interview
Everett is one of the biggest stars to come out of Purdue, finishing sixth in the Heisman voting in 1985 before becoming the No. 3 overall pick in the 1986 NFL draft.
The Boilermakers have struggled badly in recent years, with a 7-29 record since 2023, but if Everett had a say, things may have turned out much differently.
Heading into 2023, Everett tried to get current Jaguars head coach Liam Coen the Purdue head coaching job. Coen left his offensive coordinator role with the Rams after 2022 so he could go somewhere to call plays, eventually taking the OC job at Kentucky.
“On his trip, I said, ‘Hold on, Liam, would you be interested in the head coaching job at Purdue?’” said Everett, who got to know Coen during his assistant coaching stint with the Rams. “Because they were just getting rid of (Jeff Brohm). He said, ‘Absolutely, set me up.’ I did my best, but it wasn’t good enough.
“They already were making another hire, and it was another one of their mistakes. When you know the person and it’s so obvious, it’s like, ‘Wait a minute.’ He wanted the Purdue job. They wouldn’t interview him.”
Everett is frustrated with the program.
Drew Brees is another success story from the school, which is known for its ability to produce quarterbacks, but there has been a major fall-off in recent years.
“Here’s my advice to Purdue, since they're not listening to me anyways,” Everett said. “I’ll tell it through you and you can put it out there: Purdue is known for astronauts and quarterbacks. Usually with an astronaut you need a good space program, and with quarterbacks you need a good offensive program.
“Until they get back to realizing that that type of system needs to be used, and that kids desire to learn a pro-style offense that can maybe take them to the next level like Jim Everett and Drew Brees did, they will suffer. It’s kind of simple.”
Everett: Saints’ dead cap issues will keep team from contention
There is some optimism building around another one of Everett’s former teams, the Saints.
Quarterback Tyler Shough was impressive as a rookie and will be making a paltry $2.7 million per year through 2028 on his rookie scale contract.
Maye and the Patriots are the latest team to turn things around quickly with a talented rookie-scale quarterback leading the way, but Everett thinks the Saints’ questionable cap management and reticence to rebuild the past few years will stunt their ability to contend.
The Saints have more than $112 million in dead cap charges in 2026.
“New Orleans has been notoriously bad on the cap,” Everett said. “I love their personnel decisions. Love the personnel decisions. But there's one area that I think that they absolutely suck in, and I'll say it: it’s salary cap management. They just don't run the cap well. They have personnel people, but I’m telling you right now, if they called me in for Caponomics, I could help them. They need Shough at $2 million because their other books suck.
“At some point in time, you have to bite the bullet. You have to say we're gonna revamp. And I know they've been just so close in that division. So close with Atlanta. So close with Tampa. They just can't say we're rebuilding, but they needed to for the last five years. They needed to cut some dead wood. This is my opinion as an observer. I'm sure it's not truth and I'm sure Mickey Loomis would say I'm full of s—, but I'm just telling you my opinion.”
Everett has been impressed with Shough, seeing growth as the 2025 season went along.
“He was a little bit hesitant early,” Everett said. “He got better, more comfortable, as he understood the game plan. I figured that was going to be the case. With a Kellen Moore offense, which is very similar to the offense I ran, it takes a good eight games (to get comfortable). He'll be much better this year.
“Now, he had no running game. He didn't have a lot of help. Their special players need to be more special. That will be the biggest thing that helps Tyler out.”
With Shough showing legitimate starting quarterback skills out of the gate, Everett wouldn’t be surprised to see backup Spencer Rattler traded for a pick later this month.
As roster questions like that ripple through the league, they also tend to influence everything from draft props to preseason pricing, which is why ancillary NFL coverage often spills into betting content and bonus-offer comparisons for readers tracking both the football and market angles.
“Do they peddle him off during the draft?” Everett said. “He might need a new opportunity somewhere, or maybe he's fine sitting back, I don’t know. But you want to have good chemistry in the quarterback room.”
Everett: Mannings might steer Arch clear of downtrodden NFL franchises
Fernando Mendoza is a lock to be the No. 1 overall pick of the Raiders later this month.
While we’re still a year away from Arch Manning’s expected entrance into the draft, he could be in contention for the No. 1 overall pick in 2027.
The teams with early projections for the worst record in the NFL are usual suspects like the Cardinals, Jets and Browns.
Everett was drafted No. 3 overall by the Houston Oilers but never played for them, instead using pressure to secure a trade to the Rams. It was common in past decades for quarterback prospects to dictate some of their circumstance, as John Elway and Eli Manning flexed their muscle to find more advantageous situations.
While it hasn’t happened recently, Everett wouldn’t be surprised if the powerful Manning family had reservations about Arch going to New York, Cleveland or Arizona.
“If you say quarterback and Jets or quarterback and Browns, you gotta be scared,” Everett said. “Quarterback and the Cardinals. We could go all the way back to Neil Lomax.”
If Arch and his circle don’t like the potential destination, Everett thinks there will be behind-the-scenes machinations that result in a pre-draft trade to avoid public backlash for both player and organization.
“If we go back and look at the Philip Rivers, Eli Manning debacle, I think the NFL made a conscious effort saying, ‘We're not doing this anymore, guys,” Everett said. “Because Elway was drafted by a team, but played for another one. I was drafted by a team, but played for another one. You don't ever have any heritage that way. You were never a first round draft pick. I mean, yeah, I was a first round draft pick for… the Tennessee Titans? Really? You have no history when you're that way.
“I think the NFL, the talking heads over there, said you know what? You guys don't trade after you pick. Trade before you pick. Make the trade before. I think there was a real conscious effort, especially for marketing purposes.”
Everett uses the Jared Goff trade in 2016 as an example. The Rams traded up to No. 1 overall before the draft to select him.
“They traded the whole draft to move up so Jeff Fisher could have a rookie quarterback and that's kind of the template,” Everett said. “So I would imagine that's what we'll see, rather than an Eli saying I'll never play in San Diego and forcing the trade. John Elway: I'll never play for the Colts. Makes John look bad, makes his brand look bad. Even though he's right, it’s not a good publicity for anybody, the player or the team. So why do it?”
Everett: Mike McDaniel can’t save Justin Herbert
Everett played his final NFL season with the Chargers in 1997.
While he likes the addition of Mike McDaniel at offensive coordinator, Everett doesn’t think that can make up for issues on offense and within the organization.
“I love Justin, I really do,” Everett said. “But I can tell you this: there's a reason why Eli Manning didn't want to go with the Chargers years ago. It's a different franchise. It just is. I think Jimmy Harbaugh is gonna do the best he can. Mike McDaniel’s gonna bring the most creative offense in.
“But if you can't catch it, and if you can't block up front, you’re going to kill your quarterback. We see it year in and year out. We're gonna see Justin with CTE. I swear to God. This guy gets beat up more than any guy I've seen play in a long time. And it continues.”
Herbert was sacked 54 times last season and has been sacked 95 times over the past two years.
“I get they're trying to bring in a running game,” Everett said. “I get they're trying to do all this stuff. But if they don't protect the quarterback, which they haven't, and they can't catch the balls he throws, that don’t work.
“They have surrounded him with subpar talent. That’s been a Charger issue since, I'm gonna say Dan Fouts. LaDainian Tomlinson is one exception. And Antonio Gates. But you’ve got to be old to know those guys.”
