The Rams' selection of Ty Simpson with the No. 13 pick in the first round has been the most discussed pick of the NFL Draft.
It was a controversial selection, both inside and outside the organization. As Super Bowl contenders and with a starting QB who just won the league's MVP award, most assumed Los Angeles would look to maximize their current window with Matthew Stafford and take a player who could help them get over that hump.
But the Rams chose to take Simpson, who had a stellar first season as a starter at Alabama. And now he's the future of the organization, ready to take the reins from Stafford in two or three years, with LA hoping to follow the path laid out by organizations such as the Packers, who have successfully transitioned from an aging QB into a new era without missing a beat.
That decision has drummed up plenty of conversation, however, and it's pretty clear that the Rams, from the top down, haven't been in lockstep over it. It's also clear from recent comments made by Rams head coach Sean McVay on the Bussin' With The Boys podcast that the future Hall-of-Fame QB that Simpson will ultimately replace wasn't a massive fan of the pick, either.
Sean McVay hints that Matthew Stafford didn't necessarily agree with the Ty Simpson pick
"Was it an easy decision? No," McVay said about the Simpson selection. ..."I'm hopeful Matthew (Stafford) plays as long as he can. I don't take for granted how lucky I am, but you absolutely sit down, you give clarity, and you can talk to him in a different way because of the capacity and the experience he has, and explain the thought process. And again, it's no different than those other conversations, and he handled it exactly like you would want someone to handle it. But he also understands, he's been in this thing, and even if it doesn't necessarily have to be exactly agreed upon, he's like, 'I get it', because why? Because this guy can think from an empathetic perspective, too."
You can't blame Stafford for not being fully supportive of the Simpson pick. He just had the best season of his NFL career, but he's also 38 years old and knows that he only has so many more cracks at winning a second Super Bowl before his career is over.
As well as the Packers have done in transitioning from one QB to the next, it's not like Aaron Rodgers was super supportive of the Jordan Love pick when it happened, nor was Brett Favre thrilled when Green Bay selected Rodgers.
It is what it is.
It's still Stafford's team for now. Nobody is questioning that. Not McVay, not Les Snead, not Stafford, and certainly not Simpson.
But the future will belong to Simpson. One day, probably in the near future, the Rams will transition away from Stafford and become Simpson's team. Whether that's really when Stafford retires, or if he'll move on and play somewhere else as Favre and Rodgers did, remains to be seen.
Add us as a preferred source on Google