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Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay had a seemingly subdued reaction to his team's selection of former Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson at No. 13 overall in the 2026 NFL Draft Thursday (April 23) night.
McVay appeared among general manager Les Snead to address reporters and appeared to show little interest while discussing the decision to draft Simpson rather than addressing another position need, despite having reigning NFL MVP Matthew Stafford planning to return for his 18th NFL season. McVay, known for his 'win now' style of building a roster, sternly responded "I'll keep that between us" when addressing reports that he notified Stafford that the team would select Simpson ahead of time.
He was then asked if Simpson would serve as Stafford's backup, to which he bluntly responded, "We'll see, he's going to compete with [incumbent backup] Stetson [Bennett]."
Several NFL fans and reporters acknowledged McVay's strange reaction while addressing the pick including Nate Atkins, the senior writer covering the Rams for the Athletic, who wrote, "I’ve covered a lot of first-round pick pressers across four beats. This was by far the most muted I have seen a regime about the player they drafted," on his X account.
Sports Illustrated senior reporter Albert Breer acknowledged that Snead and Simpson's father, University of Tennessee-Martin head football coach Jason Simpson "have a very strong relationship" and he had served as an advisor to the family when mulling their son's draft decision.
"Rams GM Les Snead and UT-Martin coach Jason Simpson have a very strong relationship—to the point where Snead helped advise the family when Jason's son, Ty, was making a decision on whether or not to declare for the draft. Now, Ty Simpson is a Ram," Breer wrote.
Simpson finished his lone season as Alabama's starting quarterback with 3,567 yards, 28 touchdowns and five interceptions with a 64.5% completion percentage, all while leading Alabama to an 11-4 record and College Football Playoff berth in 2025. The 23-year-old reportedly turned down a $6.5 million NIL offer from the Miami Hurricanes to enter the 2026 NFL Draft, according to FOX Sports.