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The Los Angeles Rams were able to shock the NFL world Thursday night with the selection of Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson due to some “secret” pre-draft meetings.
Simpson, 23, said the Rams wanted to throw other teams off by keeping the meetings quiet.
“I had some secret meetings with coach (Sean) McVay, and I was just trying to follow the script and do what everyone told me and not tell anyone,” Simpson said during a recent interview with ESPN Radio.
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Alabama’s Ty Simpson celebrates after being selected with the 13th overall pick by the Los Angeles Rams during the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on April 23, 2026. (Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
Simpson said he knew the Rams were interested, but wanted to keep it low-key.
“We tried to keep this a secret as long as we could,” Simpson said. “It was something I knew they were interested in, but they wanted to make it private and didn’t want people to know they were interested.”
The Tennessee native compared talking to Rams head coach Sean McVay during the “secret meeting” to being like a kid in a candy store, excited about his new situation.
“It was great, we met at the facility and it was something we talked about for hours and hours, it was just football. It was just football, and it was like a kid in a candy store. He and I are sitting there, going back and forth. You can tell the obsession he has for the game and you can tell the love he has for the game of quarterback,” Simpson said.
“It’s something that I appreciate and enjoy because I really enjoy playing the position and value the position. So, being with him and getting to know him and seeing a little bit of how I would be coached if I was lucky enough to go there was something. I couldn’t have asked for a better situation.”
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Ty Simpson of the Alabama Crimson Tide warms up before the College Football Playoff quarterfinal game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California, on January 1, 2026. (CFP/Getty Images)
The selection of Simpson was very surprising because the Rams are in win-now mode. While the Rams could be moving forward by selecting their quarterback of the future, the 13th overall pick could have been used on a player at a different position who could impact the team this season.
Matthew Stafford played the best football of his career in his 17th season, winning his first MVP last year with the Rams. However, the 38-year-old quarterback only announced he would return for one more season when he capped his MVP speech with the news.
With Stafford’s future seemingly uncertain after next season, the Rams moved ahead of their heir apparent in Simpson.
McVay said during a news conference Friday that he’s excited for Simpson to learn from Stafford.
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Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay walks on the field at Lumen Field after the 2026 NFC Championship Game against the Seattle Seahawks in Seattle, Washington, on January 25, 2026. (Kevin Ng/Image Images)
“I’m excited to be able to add Ty. What a blessing it is for him to be able to learn from Matthew and to be able to come into this atmosphere and environment. Whenever that time comes for him, having the opportunity to be Matthew’s successor will be on Matthew’s terms. I think that’s really the important thing. I never wanted that to be misinterpreted without minimizing the enthusiasm for Ty and the acceptance,” McVay said.
“Les and his group really liked it. As soon as we started really studying it, there was a body of work, as I mentioned, which was a good, fun evaluation. A lot of the concepts we activated. The guy is a football junkie and plays with timing and rhythm. You can see he’s a coach’s son. It’s a fun journey he’s been through.”
OutKick’s Clay Travis said Simpson would be a great fit for the Rams before the NFL Draft began last week.
Simpson started just one season with Alabama, his last in 2025. In 15 games, he completed 64.5% of his passes for 3,567 yards with 28 touchdowns and five interceptions.
