When the Los Angeles Rams selected former Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson with the 13th overall pick of the 2026 NFL Draft last Thursday, much of the football world was in shock and fixated on one thing—Rams general manager Les Snead and Sean McVay’s seemingly puzzled, even disgruntled difference in reaction during the moments after the pick. But it turns out that reaction may have been a classic case of McVay and Simpson playing chess, not checkers.
While many fans and national media members tried to make sense of the surprise selection, behind the scenes, McVay and Simpson had already laid out the groundwork days before draft night—quietly building a connection the Rams were determined to keep hidden.
That secrecy wasn't accidental—it was strategic. What looked like a surprise on draft night was, in reality, the final step of a carefully executed plan, one designed to keep the Rams’ intentions completely off the radar until the moment mattered most. Three days after this plan successfully came to fruition, Simpson began to pull back the curtain on the process, shedding light during an interview on Monday with ESPN Radio on his secret meetings with McVay that ultimately brought him to Los Angeles.
Ty Simpson pulls curtain back on secret pre-draft meetings with Sean McVay ahead of 2026 NFL Draft selection
Ty Simpson had a private meeting with Sean McVay and the LA Rams before the #NFLDraft?!@Ianfitzespn caught up with the 13th round pick after hearing his name called on Thursday night in Pittsburgh. pic.twitter.com/Wuej8yEePZ
— ESPN Radio (@ESPNRadio) April 28, 2026
“We tried to keep this under wraps as long as we could,” Simpson said to Ian Fitzsimmons of the Amber & Ian Show. “It was something where I knew they were interested, but they wanted to make it private and didn't want people to know that they were interested. So, I had some secret meetings with Coach McVay, and I was just trying to be on script and do what everybody told me and not to tell anybody.”
Those meetings, Simpson explained, weren't about hype or draft positioning—they were about pure football process and connections. No cameras, no noise, no outside opinions—just a young quarterback and one of the league’s most respected offensive minds breaking down the game from the same lens.
“And it was just football,” Simpson added. “It was just straight football. And it was like a kid in a candy store. Me and him sitting there, and we were just going back and forth. You can tell the obsession he has for the game, and you can tell the love he has for quarterback play.”
For Simpson, those private sessions offered more than just evaluation—they offered a glimpse into what life would look like under McVay in Los Angeles.
“It's something that I appreciate, and it's something that I enjoy because I really enjoy playing the position and value the position,” Simpson said. “So, being with him and then getting to know him and seeing a little bit of how I would get coached if I was fortunate enough to go there was something that I couldn't have asked for a better situation.”
This clarity by Simpson helps calm much of the post-draft discussion around the Rams’ decision-making, reinforcing that the move wasn't impulsive but intentional and part of a long-term vision for the franchise.
In Los Angeles, Simpson now enters a quarterback room built around the present and the future alike—learning under reigning NFL MVP and future Hall of Famer Mathew Stafford while being developed as the next man up. As McVay has made it clear, “this is Matthew’s team”, but the long view inside the organization is just as internal: Simpson is the future of the franchise, being groomed patiently behind one of the game’s most accomplished veterans before eventually taking the reins of the Los Angeles Rams.
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