The Los Angeles Rams shocked the football world when they selected Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson with the 13th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Considering the Rams are in win-now mode with Matthew Stafford at quarterback, the expectation was for them to add another piece to help the 38-year-old get back to the Super Bowl.
A lot of fans weren’t happy about the Simpson pick, and head coach Sean McVay didn’t appear to be too pleased either at a press conference after the first night of the draft. Many people took that as McVay not liking the pick and perhaps being at odds with general manager Les Snead.
During a recent appearance on the “Rich Eisen Show,” Snead refuted the notion that he isn’t seeing eye to eye with McVay and said the two have a good relationship:
“Our relationship, we’re in lockstep. We’ve been together ten years, we’ve been together now for at least two hours every morning….from late February to right there before the draft, we spend two to three hours every morning together preparing for that night. We’re brothers, we’ll be brothers till the end.”
Snead’s comments are similar to what McVay said after the first night of the draft, when he reiterated that they remain in unison with each other.
McVay and Snead have had a great working relationship over the last decade and are the main reasons why the Rams have had so much success. It’s good to see they are still on the same page, and Simpson will now have the opportunity to learn under Stafford for some time before being his eventual successor.
Ty Simpson reveals secret meeting with Rams head coach Sean McVay
Not long after the Simpson pick was made official, several reports indicated that the young quarterback did not expect to join the Rams. He revealed during a press conference that he never spoke to general manager Les Snead or head coach Sean McVay during the pre-draft process.
Simpson has since cleared the air, revealing that he had a private meeting with McVay before the 2026 NFL Draft and both sides wanted to keep it under wraps.
Now that it is known the Rams had targeted Simpson all along, the pick looks more reasonable. However, there will always be some skepticism until Simpson has a chance to play and prove to everyone that he can be L.A.’s long-term solution at quarterback.
