Last night, the Los Angeles Rams shocked the NFL world by drafting Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson with the 13th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
In the Rams’ draft press conference, it seemed like McVay didn’t want to draft Simpson, at least not with the 13th overall pick. In addition, the head coach admitted during the NFL Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, that the team hadn’t done much homework on the former Alabama quarterback.
Sean McVay’s Comments on Ty Simpson at NFL Annual Meetings Are a Big Sign
Last season, the Rams had the best offense in the NFL according to PFSN’s NFL Offensive Impact Metric, with an impact score of 92.3 and a letter grade of A-.
Most of this was due to MVP Award-winning quarterback Matthew Stafford, who ranked sixth with an impact score of 84.4 and a letter grade of B in PFSN’s NFL Quarterback Impact Metric. In 17 games, he completed 65.0% of passes for 4,707 passing yards, 46 touchdowns, and 8interceptions.
Instead of drafting a player who can help the team win now, they drafted a guy who isn’t even guaranteed to play next year. It’s clear that McVay had no intention of drafting Simpson at 13 because he said the following at the NFL league meetings:
“We watch all of our guys. I like him [Simpson a lot, too,” McVay said. “I would say this: I probably haven’t done as much work on him as you have, but I like the way he handles himself, the way you can evaluate a lot of the different things that he’s able to do that maybe translate.”
“There are a lot of other guys that I like at that 13th pick,” McVay added. “Whether it’s quarterbacks, whether it’s guys on offense or defense… We’re excited, we’re gonna get a good player at 13, I know that.”
Sean McVay ‘did not do a lot of homework on Ty Simpson’ – not sure I’ve ever seen anything like this on a 13th overall pick in the NFL Draft… let’s keep an eye on this relationship with Les Snead going forward pic.twitter.com/g52rQYgDe6
— John Frascella (Football) (@NFLFrascella) April 24, 2026
One of the biggest criticisms of Simpson has been his lack of tape at the college level, but he did have a productive final season with the Crimson Tide.
In 15 games last season, Simpson completed 64.5% of passes for 3,567 passing yards, 28 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions. He added another 93 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns as well. In PFSN’s College Football Quarterback Impact Metric, he ranked as the 25th-best quarterback with an impact score of 85.4 and a letter grade of B.
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McVay is one of the best offensive coaches in the league, so there’s no doubt that he can develop Simpson into an eventual full-time starter. However, they missed out on taking a “win now” player, such as wide receiver Makai Lemon, who the team was rumored to be interested in.
