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.
“Let’s go make history, Coach,” Simpson told McVay, his voice cracking.
“Yeah … Hey, enjoy this night — you earned it,” McVay responded.
Minutes later, McVay — normally a walking espresso shot in terms of energy — appeared subdued, almost frustrated at a news conference discussing the decision to take Simpson at No. 13 overall. The decision was a weighty one, considering the Rams’ championship aspirations and reigning MVP Matthew Stafford leading the team under center.
When asked whether Simpson was the team’s first target at No. 13, McVay, alongside general manager Les Snead, eventually pivoted to Stafford.
“There were a lot of players that we liked, but when you do look at it, I think the thing you liked about the body of work is … let’s make one thing clear, this is Matthew’s team,” McVay said. “You get a chance to be able to address the backup quarterback.”
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.”
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.
Regardless, the ripple effects of this pick will be larger than the waves at 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.
Still, a few whispers trickled through the scouting community in recent weeks. Scouts were aware of Snead’s connection with Simpson’s father, Jason, the head coach at University of Tennessee-Martin. Snead referenced Thursday night that he and Jason Simpson played SEC football around the same time and “don’t have a real relationship” other than through football connections. But Snead confirmed the Simpson family consulted him for advice about whether to enter the draft after the 2025 season, citing the Rams’ role in the College Advisory Committee to help players with the decision-making process. In those talks, Snead relayed to the family that Simpson is a first-round-caliber player, per NFL Network national insider Ian Rapoport.
Scouts were aware of this but still didn’t believe the Rams would pick a quarterback at No. 13. In fact, multiple high-ranking NFL personnel evaluators with rival teams, as of Wednesday night, thought Simpson might slide to the second round due to a supply-and-demand issue. In their minds, Arizona, which picked third and 34th in the first two rounds, was the logical home for Simpson.
“They are on the door of a championship,” an AFC scout of the Rams said. “I can’t imagine they aren’t going to help Stafford when he still has good years left.”
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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 so 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.
The Rams received trade calls on the 13th pick, a source confirmed. Teams coveted Penn State guard Olaivavega Ioane, 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 Sadiq 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.
Simpson remained hopeful, if not confident. As one source close to the quarterback put it, Simpson wouldn’t have attended the draft in Pittsburgh if he thought there was a decent chance he would slip out of the first round. Simpson didn’t truly know what the Rams would do but felt good about their presence, along with Arizona’s. His working range all along was Nos. 11 to 30 in Round 1.
WHERE DID THIS leave Stafford, who is 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.
Stafford was throwing with his receivers just last week. Puka Nacua and Davante Adams are one of the league’s best receiving tandems, and the team has big plans for 2025 second-round tight end Terrance Ferguson alongside veterans Colby Parkinson and Tyler Higbee. Kyren Williams is one of the league’s best all-around running backs, and Blake Corum is an emerging talent. The team is very high on former late-round receiver Konata Mumpfield.
“He’s not going into the season wondering whether we have enough weapons to move the ball,” said a source about Stafford.
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.
For at least one year and maybe much longer, Simpson must wait to join the fold.
“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.”
Simpson doesn’t seem to mind that at all.
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 40s, 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.
Sarah Barshop contributed to the reporting of this piece.
