If Ty Simpson develops into a top NFL quarterback who leads the Rams to a Super Bowl title, the club will look back at the 2026 draft as one of the best and shrewdest in its history.
Until then, it will be remembered for a news conference.
Yeah, that one.
The post-Day 1 session on Thursday night when coach Sean McVay and general manager Les Snead — the personable and ebullient duo that playfully channeled Top Gun’s “Maverick” and “Goose” in 2025 — appeared dour and subdued after selecting Simpson with the 13th overall pick.
The choice brought a collective groan from much of the fan base. And who could blame it?
They were eager to see their favorite team add a final piece — hello, USC receiver Makai Lemon? — to a roster perhaps one playmaker away from making the Rams the favorite to win Super Bowl LXI at SoFi Stadium next February.
That’s no knock on Simpson, a charming and mature Tennessee native who started 15 games for Alabama before the Rams made him the heir apparent to Matthew Stafford.
The next day, Snead and McVay gave Simpson his flowers and repeated the same talking point: They are in “lockstep” as decision-makers. And McVay explained that his “grumpy” demeanor the night before was related to personal issues and his desire to delicately handle Stafford’s reaction to the pick.
On Saturday, the Rams did not make Snead or McVay available to reporters to summarize their draft, which included Simpson, Ohio State tight end Max Klare, Missouri offensive lineman Keagen Trost, Miami receiver CJ Daniels and Alabama defensive lineman Tim Keenan III. It is the smallest draft class in Rams history, which befits a team with no glaring roster holes.
Ostensibly, Snead and McVay stepped aside to give assistant general manager John McKay and Nicole Blake, the director of scouting, strategy and analytics, experience dealing with questions from reporters, which they handled with aplomb.
But the braintrust’s absence only magnified that this draft was unlike any other it has overseen during 10 years of working as a team.
It would have been difficult to top 2025.
The Rams won last year’s draft when they traded out of the first round in exchange for the Atlanta Falcons’ first-round pick this year. That gave the Rams the Falcons’ pick at No. 13 and their own at No. 29.
In March, the Rams traded the No. 29 pick to the Kansas City Chiefs in a package for All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie. The masterful move addressed the Rams’ most pressing need and gave them a Super Bowl-ready roster. Classic Snead.
The Rams, set up for a boom-or-bust season akin to 2021, were primed for another typical big swing with the 13th pick. But instead of giving Stafford another weapon, they gave him… his eventual replacement.
Choosing Simpson might prove a savvy move. Especially if Stafford is injured this season or retires in the next year or two. But the pick stunned many. And gauging his public reaction afterward, it appeared to unnerve McVay.
During their time together, Snead and McVay built teams that have played in two Super Bowls, winning one, and made eight playoff appearances. Some interpreted McVay’s demeanor on Thursday night as evidence of a splinter in one of the league’s most successful partnerships.
But that does not appear to be the case.
Recall that after the Rams lost in the NFC championship last January, team president Kevin Demoff’s first order of business was signing Snead and McVay to extensions that had been on the table all season.
Several days before the draft, McVay and Snead described their connection. And they did it with heartfelt comments.
“I truly love Les and I have such respect for the job that he does,” McVay said, adding, “There is nobody I’d rather be partnered up with.”
Said Snead: “From a life perspective, you hear it when players retire, they miss the locker room. Whenever that time comes for me, I’ll miss showing up and doing hard things with Sean just because that’s a relationship that probably makes life worth a living.’”
McVay probably feels that way about Stafford. During the 2021 season, Stafford led the Rams to a Super Bowl title. At 38, he is the reigning NFL most valuable player. He also is in negotiations for a contract adjustment.
But McVay’s desire to not hurt Stafford’s feelings by not publicly giving Simpson a trademark, positive-infused welcome-to-L.A. moment seemed misguided. Stafford is one of the toughest and most resilient players in the NFL. He is bound for the Hall of Fame. The guy seems pretty secure in who he is and where he stands with the team and in NFL history.
So the Rams broke from script. They abandoned an all-in pick for an investment in the future.
“You’re never one player away,” McVay said Saturday during a television interview with NFL Network. “We know that we have a chance to be a good football team but you earn it every single year.
“And if you could tell me that taking somebody would ensure us, I think we would do that. But it doesn’t quite work like that.”
No, it doesn’t.
And if Simpson lives up to the potential that the Rams see in him, it will be another in a string of genius decisions by Snead and McVay.
But if Lemon makes a big catch for the Philadelphia Eagles against the Rams in the NFC playoffs, the Rams might look back at it as the swing they should have taken.
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