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.
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) April 28, 2026
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
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.
