The win-now Rams shocked many observers when they spent the 13th overall pick in this year’s draft on a developmental quarterback, former Alabama signal-caller Ty Simpson. For his part, Simpson suggested afterward he had little pre-draft contact with the Rams, saying (via Sarah Barshop of ESPN): “I met with some scouts at (Alabama), and that was really it. They talked to my agent, but that was really not much.”
[Poll: Grading Rams’ Simpson Pick]
It turns out Simpson was being cagey, as he revealed Monday in an interview with Ian Fitzsimmons on ESPN Radio.
“We tried to keep this under wraps as long as we could,” Simpson told Fitzsimmons. “It was something to where I knew they were interested, but they wanted to make it private and didn’t want people to know that they were interested.”
Simpson added that he and head coach Sean McVay “had some secret meetings” and “talked for hours and hours” about football. Meeting with a prospect is atypical for Rams brass (McVay and general manager Les Snead), Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic notes. While McVay drew plenty of attention online when he looked less than thrilled in the aftermath of the Simpson pick, that was not the case. McVay has “significant say” over the Rams’ first selection every year, Rodrigue relays. General manager Les Snead would not have pulled the trigger on Simpson had McVay been against it.
After making a mere 15 starts in college, there is no shortage of skepticism regarding Simpson’s chances of succeeding in the NFL. But both McVay and Snead are “very high on Simpson,” per Rodrigue. McVay, who has earned a reputation as an offensive guru, will play a key role in developing the 23-year-old as he breaks into the league as a backup.
It is unclear how long it will take for Simpson to get a look as a starter, as he is stuck behind one of the league’s premier signal-callers. Matthew Stafford will play his age-38 season in 2026, but he has shown no signs of slowing down. The 17-year veteran won his first MVP after throwing a career-high 46 touchdown passes last season. He came within a few points of reaching his second Super Bowl, but the Seahawks upended the Rams in a 31-27 NFC championship game. The Stafford-led Rams will aim to get over the hump and win their first title since 2021 next season, but in the meantime, he is likely to ink a lucrative extension.
The Rams may have just landed their QB of the future, but it does not appear Simpson will overtake Stafford any time soon. As was the case with past first-round QBs like Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love in Green Bay, it may be multiple years before Simpson takes the reins.
McVay was so determined to hide his interest in Simpson that he even kept looking bummed about drafting Simpson afterward. Now there’s a committed actor.
welp another wasted pick on a bamba QB 😂
It was performative to help smooth things over with Matthew Stafford. Anyone who thinks Les Snead would foist a first round QB on Sean McVay without McVay’s blessing is straight up nuts.
It’s so embarrassing and so obvious they are trying to save face. Look at the other well run franchises who have drafted well for years and have drafted QBs. The Eagles don’t pull nonsense like this and simply drafted Hurts. Same with the Ravens and Jackson and the Chiefs and Mahomes and the Packers and Love. They simply draft them and explain why no acting or 5D chess required.