The first round of the 2026 NFL Draft had its share of moments as is the case every year, but without a doubt the biggest shock of the night came when the Los Angeles Rams drafted Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson with the 13th overall pick.
With the Rams in “win-now” mode, trying to win a Super Bowl with starting quarterback Matthew Stafford coming off an MVP season, taking Simpson with their first-round pick was something nobody saw coming. And that includes Simpson himself, who had no idea the Rams were going to draft him until he got the call as he had not previously spoken to Sean McVay or Les Snead, via Wyatt Miller of theRams.com:
Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson had “no clue” the Rams were going to select him in this year’s draft, let alone at pick No. 13 overall. But when the Los Angeles area code popped up on his phone, he “broke down.”
Simpson knew that the Rams liked him through his limited conversations with scouts and rumors he heard during the pre-draft process, but he didn’t speak to Rams general manager Les Snead until he called on Thursday. He then passed the phone to head coach Sean McVay, and hearing from a quarterback whisperer like that was surreal for Rams’ first-round pick.
And while going to the Rams wasn’t what he was expecting, the situation itself, and playing for McVay, is something Simpson is very much looking forward to:
“The fact that coach Sean McVay of the Los Angeles Rams took a chance on me, who’s a quarterback genius, I’m super pumped,” Simpson told reporters on zoom shortly after he was selected. “I can’t wait to get to L.A.”
Simpson certainly has the talent, though he didn’t have much experience at the college level, only having one full year as a starter at Alabama. He threw for 3,567 yards and 28 touchdowns with just five interceptions, but he did struggle in the second half of the season as he dealt with a litany of injuries that hampered his play.
This pick is one that could be questioned for years to come, but if it does work out this franchise could be set at the quarterback position for the present and future, which would keep their Super Bowl window open for much longer than anticipated.
Sean McVay spoke with Matthew Stafford about Rams’ plan to draft Ty Simpson
Of course, taking a quarterback in the first round is going to bring about a lot of questions about the future of Stafford, who is 38 years old and in the final year of his contract. But McVay did reveal that he spoke to Stafford prior to the Rams drafting Simpson.
