Did Sean McVay Sign Off on Rams Drafting Ty Simpson?

When a team drafts its future franchise quarterback, the expectation would be for there to be excitement and for the general feeling to be an overwhelming sense of joy. That was not the case for the Los Angeles Rams following the selection of quarterback Ty Simpson.

The overall mood in the post-first-round press conference was off. Head coach Sean McVay sat with his arms at his sides, appearing shut off and disengaged. General manager Les Snead did most of the talking and it felt like he was defending the pick rather than praising it. Said Snead, “The sea’s gonna shape the 13th pick. He had to fall.”

Media members who were in the room felt the tension as well. Gary Klein of the LA Times noted, “Of all the draft pressers with Snead and McVay, whether it involved a first-round pick or a second-round pick, this one lacked their trademark ebullience and sense of humor.”

Nate Atkins of The Athletic added, “Across beats covering the Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Indianapolis Colts and, now the Rams, this was the first time I’ve covered a first-round draft pick news conference where the regime showed so little excitement about the player selected.”

Immediately, a narrative began to form. Was this a ‘Les Snead pick’ and was head coach Sean McVay on board? It got even stranger when Ty Simpson had a radio appearance after the draft and said he had never spoken to Sean McVay.

Now, it’s worth noting that the Rams are typically close to the vest when it comes to the draft. This isn’t a team that attends the Senior Bowl or Combine in a large capacity. Both the general manager and the head coach don’t attend those events. The Rams aren’t a team that does top-30 visits. If they do a top-30 visit or make a meeting public, it is typically done as a smokefStscreen to throw off other teams.

Still, for a position as important as quarterback, it’s odd that the offensive-minded head coach would have never spoken to the player. McVay’s first words in the press conference were, “Let’s make one thing clear. This is Matthew’s team.” McVay added later, “He’s going to compete with Stetson,” when asked if Simpson would be the backup.

This is certainly a case where multiple things can be true. Is it possible that McVay wanted a wide receiver at 13? Absolutely. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported that USC wide receiver Makai Lemon was in the mix. However, "There wasn't much debate -- if Simpson was there, they were taking him...Simpson was definitely their lead guy among the rest of the quarterback class."

It’s also possible that McVay and Snead were hiding their excitement publicly to save face with Matthew Stafford. While the Rams kept Stafford in the loop of what the plans were at quarterback, it’s fair to keep his emotions in mind as well. That’s not to say that Stafford was against it. At the same time, how would it look if the front office and coaching staff were giddy about their new quarterback after Stafford just won the MVP?

Fowler touched on this as well, "Multiple team sources said they believe McVay might have felt the need to downplay the pick in order to accentuate his confidence in Stafford."

It’s hard to believe that with one of the most in-sync head coach-GM duos duos in the NFL, one went rogue on the other. If McVay had been vehemently against drafting Simpson, would Snead really have drafted him anyway? The quarterback position is one that requires complete buy-in, especially from the head coach. It would make no sense to take Simpson if McVay hadn’t at least signed off on it.

The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue explained this. Snead typically removes himself from the entire scouting process so that his scouts aren’t biased. The head coach has a huge say in the first pick as the coaching staff isn’t at events like the Senior Bowl. Snead would not have drafted someone if McVay was not completely on board and also loved the player. Rodrigue noted that it’s possible that he even drove the consensus himself.

To be clear, that’s not Rodrigue reporting what happened in the process when it comes to Simpson. However, given her background with the Rams’ scouting process, she does provide unique insight and would know more than most.

Appreciate all the body language analysis but McVay is arguably best coach in the NFL and the Rams know it.

Highly doubt they’d draft Simpson without his blessing.

Nobody knows more about how Rams operate than the great @JourdanRodrigue: https://t.co/ilYXKvWMCp pic.twitter.com/4RN3SFEebA
— Ross Tucker (@RossTuckerNFL) April 24, 2026

While some may not agree with the pick, the head coach and general manager likely came to a consensus. ESPN’s Peter Schrager said, “As much as McVay was doing all that, trust me. McVay is a Ty Simpson fan.” Added Fowler, "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."

"All indications to me were they were in lockstep," a separate team source said.

At the end of the day, if the Rams had conviction in Simpson, it made sense to take him at 13. The quarterback position isn’t one to mess around with. We can only speculate that the Rams could have gotten Simpson in a trade back situation.

At the same time, the New York Jets picked at 16 and were considered a potential Simpson team. The Arizona Cardinals could have also traded up. If the Rams liked Simpson, taking him at 13 was the best move and the selection was likely made with the general manager and head coach on board.

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us onFacebook, X and Instagram for the latest news.

Add us as a preferred source on Google