Jeremy FowlerApr 24, 2026, 01:27 PM ETCloseJeremy Fowler is a senior national NFL writer for ESPN, covering the entire league including breaking news. Jeremy also contributes to SportsCenter both as a studio analyst and a sideline reporter covering for NFL games. He is an Orlando, Florida native who joined ESPN in 2014 after covering college football for CBSSports.com.Follow on XMultiple Authors
play1:03Ty Simpson’s NFL draft profileCheck out some of the top highlights from Alabama’s Ty Simpson.
Domonique Foxworth: Rams’ selection of Ty Simpson is a ‘risky bet’ (1:57)Dan Graziano and Domonique Foxworth detail why the Rams’ decision to draft Ty Simpson in the first round isn’t expected to pay off immediately. (1:57)
HOLLYWOOD PARK, Calif. — Draft night is an amalgam of mood shifts, which the Los Angeles Rams brain trust experienced in full scope Thursday night.
Shortly after 9 p.m. ET, head coach Sean McVay was on the phone with his new quarterback, Ty Simpson, who was hunched over in a puffy white chair from the green room of the NFL draft, fighting an avalanche of emotion.
When asked whether Simpson was the team’s first target at No. 13, McVay, alongside general manager Les Snead, eventually pivoted to Stafford.
While only McVay can explain his disposition in that moment, he was not projecting the customary excitement for one of the biggest nights on the NFL calendar.
Multiple team sources said they believe McVay might have felt the need to downplay the pick in order to accentuate his confidence in Stafford.
“He will be cautious and protective of Matt, and rightfully so,” a team source said. “I think Sean is excited for the pick. The appreciation for the tape was the biggest thing.”
Regardless, the ripple effects of this pick will be larger than the nearby Malibu shore, a succession plan resting in the sand.
THE RAMS’ DRAFT methodology is stripped down in the name of efficiency. They don’t host players for predraft visits (teams are allowed up to 30), relying more on virtual scouting and data. They don’t attend the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis. If the team visits a player on campus, it might send a lower-level scout to interview the player, if they do at all.
Neither Snead nor McVay formally talked with Simpson throughout the process, Simpson confirmed Thursday night after the selection. “I met with some scouts in Alabama and that was really it,” Simpson said.
But in this case, the Rams were highly motivated to keep their intentions quiet — largely because of the presence of McVay, one of the game’s great offensive minds. The franchise picked Jared Goff first overall the year before McVay arrived, but in nine years, he hadn’t drafted a quarterback higher than 128th overall (current backup Stetson Bennett, a 2023 pick).
“[The Rams brass] knew that if it got out that McVay stamped this guy, that could have created more interest ahead of them,” a team source said.
The Rams were very aware of this dynamic, as multiple sources pointed out, one of whom compared it to a two-star recruit getting an offer from Alabama or Ohio State, effectively making him a five-star.
While the Rams always try to mute their plans, they found that process magnified when it came to the quarterback position over the past two months.
“They are on the door of a championship,’ said an AFC scout of the Rams. “I can’t imagine they aren’t going to help Stafford when he still has good years left.”
Ty Simpson’s NFL draft profileCheck out some of the top highlights from Alabama’s Ty Simpson.
Check out some of the top highlights from Alabama’s Ty Simpson.
The Rams received trade calls on the 13th pick, a source confirmed. Teams coveted Penn State guard Olaivavega Iaone, who went 14th to Baltimore, and a trade with Los Angeles would have helped a team jump Baltimore for the top guard. But Los Angeles stood pat.
Oregon tight end Kenyon Saadiq was also believed to be part of the Rams’ first-round conversation at some point, along with Ohio State safety Caleb Downs if he slid that far. Lemon went to the Eagles at No. 20, Saadiq to the Jets at No. 16 and Downs to the Cowboys at No. 11.
Snead and his scouts value what they call a ‘central nervous system’ in a quarterback, the ability to process information and run an NFL offense as intended. The Rams noticed that early in the process with Simpson. Around late February or early March is when McVay and the team’s coaches dove deep into studying prospects.
The Rams looked at the Simpson selection as a ‘bonus pick,’ per a team source — they had already secured star corner Trent McDuffie by trading the 29th pick to Kansas City, thus solidifying the defensive backfield, and the 13th pick came from a trade with Atlanta a year ago. Los Angeles figured it wouldn’t be picking this high very often, putting quarterback into focus.
The uncertainty around Jimmy Garoppolo’s future played a role, too. The team knew in March that retirement was a possibility for Garoppolo, a free agent, effectively leaving Los Angeles without its steady backup. During free agency, a source says the Rams made overtures to sign free agent quarterback Joe Flacco, who ultimately returned to Cincinnati on a one-year deal.
All of this set the stage for the Rams to take their big swing, even if virtually none of the high-profile mock drafts pegged Simpson to Los Angeles.
WHERE DID THIS leave Stafford, who’s 38 but playing his best football? The Rams called Stafford the day of the draft to inform him they were selecting Simpson, according to ESPN senior NFL insider Adam Schefter. McVay said Stafford handled the news “great” because he’s a “stud” and “always first class in every sense of the word.”
Last month at the league meetings, McVay said Stafford had earned the right to decide how long he wants to play year-to-year, an important backdrop for the team’s current negotiations with him on a new deal. Stafford is owed $40 million this year and is slated to be a free agent in 2027.
Drafting a quarterback behind a star passer isn’t always easy. Aaron Rodgers publicly expressed discomfort with the Green Bay Packers’ decision to select Jordan Love in 2020, setting the stage for Rodgers’ exit from the franchise three years later, though he got along well with Love personally.
What helps assuage the transition in the short term: Stafford’s evaluation of the Rams offense. Stafford is, by all accounts, happy with his skill players on offense, per a team source, which can alleviate the pressure of taking a big swing on a quarterback who won’t help the team now.
All of those players were Day 2 and 3 picks, suggesting the Rams can identify more help in the next two days of the draft.
“I don’t know if you can ever take someone in the draft and say they’re going to come in and play, especially on a team like ours,” Snead said. “You have to come in. You have to earn equity. You have to earn trust before you’re going to get a jersey and help us on game day.”
While Simpson would have been glad to go to Arizona, he wanted to be a Ram if all things were equal, a source close to him said, citing the winning culture and the presence of McVay and Stafford.
“He’s a coach’s kid who could care less when he plays,” the source said. “He’s always been a huge Stafford fan and can learn from the best (in McVay).”
Simpson has experience in waiting, as he pointed out post-draft. He sat for three years at Alabama behind Bryce Young and Jalen Milroe before getting his chance, learning from both over the years.
“It’s very similar to what Matthew has and brings to the table, it’s just on a bigger stage and he’s one of the greatest of all-time to do it,” Simpson said. I’m super blessed and I can’t wait to get started.”
The chance to develop behind the scenes with the right coaches is a dream scenario for most young quarterbacks.
While Stafford might not play into his forties, one team source used the possibility to prove a larger point.
“If (Simpson) never starts a game for the Rams before his rookie contract runs out, that’s a win for the Rams,” the source said.
BUT THE PLAN was already in motion. While multiple sources confirm USC receiver Makai Lemon was “definitely” in the mix for the Rams at 13, not much drama followed the decision. “There wasn’t much debate — if Simpson was there, they were taking him,” said a personnel source, going as far as to say Simpson compared favorably to No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza in parts of the building. “Not a lot of separation,” the source said. To be sure, the Rams knew Mendoza was going No. 1 to the Las Vegas Raiders so they didn’t need to study him aggressively. Either way, Simpson was definitely their lead guy among the rest of the quarterback class.
Domonique Foxworth: Rams’ selection of Ty Simpson is a ‘risky bet’ (1:57)Dan Graziano and Domonique Foxworth detail why the Rams’ decision to draft Ty Simpson in the first round isn’t expected to pay off immediately. (1:57)
Dan Graziano and Domonique Foxworth detail why the Rams’ decision to draft Ty Simpson in the first round isn’t expected to pay off immediately. (1:57)
Jeremy FowlerApr 24, 2026, 01:27 PM ETCloseJeremy Fowler is a senior national NFL writer for ESPN, covering the entire league including breaking news. Jeremy also contributes to SportsCenter both as a studio analyst and a sideline reporter covering for NFL games. He is an Orlando, Florida native who joined ESPN in 2014 after covering college football for CBSSports.com.Follow on XMultiple Authors
CloseJeremy Fowler is a senior national NFL writer for ESPN, covering the entire league including breaking news. Jeremy also contributes to SportsCenter both as a studio analyst and a sideline reporter covering for NFL games. He is an Orlando, Florida native who joined ESPN in 2014 after covering college football for CBSSports.com.Follow on X
“Let’s go make history, coach,” Simpson told McVay, his voice cracking.
“Yeah … Hey, enjoy this night, you earned it,” McVay responded.
A source with direct knowledge of the situation put it more bluntly: McVay “absolutely” was on board with the pick, noting that Snead and McVay attack all decisions together,