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The Rams surprised the NFL world by selecting Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson at No. 13 on Thursday at the NFL draft.
Los Angeles isn’t a team that necessarily needed a quarterback—it has reigning MVP Matthew Stafford on the roster for the time being, and although he’s nearing retirement age, the Simpson selection was panned as a bit of a reach.
Simpson will begin his NFL career with plenty of pressure put on him partially because of how high he was drafted. He wasn’t considered a consensus first-round pick by draft pundits, but he became one and now needs to live up to the hype when he takes the field this fall. Luckily for Simpson, the quarterback learned from the one of the greatest college coaches of all time, Nick Saban, in terms of how to handle expectations placed on him. He detailed that Saban mindset when speaking with media on Friday at his introductory press conference.
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“I think, one, it starts with not really having expectations—I learned that from Coach Saban about how if you have expectations, you’re always really bound to fail,” Simpson said. “If I come in here and say I want to win Rookie of the Year, well, Matthew Stafford just won the MVP, that’s going to be a fail. My plan is to just get better each day. I’m blessed enough to be in the room, a great quarterback room, great coaches, reigning MVP, first-ballot Hall of Famer, the best head coach in football—I just want to soak up all that knowledge. Today starts my NFL career, and tomorrow would be the second day. I just want to get better each and every day so eventually I have a long career like Matthew.”
Simpson sounds like he acknowledges the 2026 season will be the year for him to grow and develop within the Rams’ organization under Stafford. He has some lofty goals set for himself in his NFL career, but he has time to achieve those aspirations.
Sean McVay, Les Snead talk about shocking reaction to drafting Simpson
After Simpson was drafted in the first round, coach Sean McVay went viral for the wrong reasons as he didn’t appear excited to be taking a quarterback so early in the draft. The vibes definitely seemed off from McVay while general manager Les Snead was talking on Thursday night. This didn’t help the narrative surrounding the Rams’ pick.
McVay cleared the air on Saturday on the misconception of their reactions. The coach reiterated that he and Snead remain on the same page about the moves the team made during the draft.
“The one thing that would never be doubted is we couldn’t more in lockstep in every decision we make. I get my demeanor last night, but we’re excited about it,” McVay said. “… Every decision that we make is collective and collaborative. For any of the questions or misunderstandings based on my demeanor or disposition last night, I did want to get that out of the way. This is my buddy right here,” McVay said while giving Snead a pat on the shoulder. “That was never my intended way to come off, but sometimes I can be a little grumpy.”
Snead said something similar to McVay on Friday when appearing on ESPN Los Angeles.
“At the end of the day, Sean and I are going to always work together in these kinds of decisions. There was a lot that going was going on into maneuvering that draft,” Snead said. “We’re in lockstep. We work together. We’re collaborative. It’s him and I partnering and trying to do what’s best for the Rams.”
Snead and McVay both shared that Stafford knew of the team’s decision to draft a quarterback beforehand. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported Friday that Los Angeles and Stafford are in the final stages of negotiations on a contract extension, and the Rams believe he could play next year and potentially longer.
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MADISON WILLIAMS
Madison Williams is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where she specializes in tennis but covers a wide range of sports from a national perspective. Before joining SI in 2022, Williams worked at The Sporting News. Having graduated from Augustana College, she completed a master’s in sports media at Northwestern University.
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