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The Los Angeles Rams surprised many by drafting quarterback Ty Simpson with the No. 13 pick in the NFL Draft. A new report suggests, however, the team had been planning something like this for over a year.

The Rams’ plans to draft a quarterback were months in the making, according to Nate Atkins of The Athletic. Part of the reason the Rams traded out of the first round in 2025 with the Atlanta Falcons was to get a future first-round pick that might land in the top 20, which they hoped to use on a quarterback.

GM Les Snead’s strategy was not affected by a weaker-than-expected quarterback class. The Rams expect to continue contending and picking low in the first round on an annual basis, and wanted to make sure they walked away with a long-term successor to Matthew Stafford when they were picking high enough to land a potential franchise quarterback.

The Rams were also concerned that they would lose out on Simpson if they let him fall toward the late first or early second round. The Arizona Cardinals, an NFC West rival, were known to have strong interest in Simpson and held the No. 34 overall pick.

The Rams certainly did well to keep that master plan under wraps, since it came as a surprise to everyone. It was so well executed that people thought coach Sean McVay hated the pick based on his press conference performance.

By the time he was drafted, even Simpson himself was in on the plan. It may or may not work, but if it doesn’t, it certainly will not be because the Rams did not think it through enough.

One of the many surprises in the 2026 NFL Draft was the Los Angeles Rams taking Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson with the 13th overall pick. 

The surprise later turned into drama after Simpson said he had yet to meet Rams head coach Sean McVay following the draft.

As it turned out, Simpson simply continued to buy into a pre-draft plan even after Los Angeles selected him. The truth is that he had a private meeting with the Rams before the draft and knew that the team was interested in him. 

However, because the Rams did not want other teams to sniff out their plans, he had to follow a script about not having any contact with McVay or anyone from the organization, Simpson told ESPN Radio’s “Amber and Ian” show on Monday.

Then, during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Tuesday, Rams general manager Les Snead explained that Simpson wasn’t really supposed to stick that narrative beyond the draft.

“Here’s where it went awry,” Snead said. “We do like to emphasize, ‘Hey, look. Try to keep these private meetings between us. For that gamesmanship. We like for other teams not to know we’re interested.’ So we do emphasize that a little stronger. Try to keep it between us.” 

Snead said the Rams felt bad for Simpson, who was just following orders.

“So we emphasize, keep it quiet. Felt really bad for Ty. He stayed on script. Poor guy stayed on script,” added Snead.

#Rams GM Les Snead says the team asks prospects to stay quiet about private visits so other teams won’t know they met.

After being drafted No. 13, Ty Simpson still thought he had to keep it under wraps and told reporters he had never met with the Rams or Sean McVay.

(🎥… pic.twitter.com/lpdq8NNIsZ

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) April 28, 2026

So, the Rams wanted radio silence on their interest in Simpson but ended up dealing with a lot of negative noise, prompting Snead to step in and clear things up.

It was not the best way for Ty Simpson to start his Rams stint, though he must have learned a thing or two about handling off-the-field issues.