Chris CwikContributing writerTue, April 28, 2026 at 2:04 PM UTC·3 min readIn the immediate aftermath of the Los Angeles Rams taking quarterback Ty Simpson in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, some fans questioned whether head coach Sean McVay was on board with the pick. McVay gave a muted response to the selection while speaking with reporters after the first round was over Thursday night.
But in the days after that pick, McVay and the Rams made it clear that the coach was supportive of the Simpson pick, sending out a video in which McVay seems more excited about the selection.
But McVay’s enthusiasm for Simpson may extend even further than anyone thought. Turns out, Simpson had a secret meeting with the Rams and McVay prior to the 2026 NFL Draft. The quarterback was told to keep quiet about that meeting in the lead-up to the draft so that teams wouldn’t find out McVay was interested in the quarterback.
Simpson revealed that tidbit during an interview on ESPN Radio.
Ty Simpson had a private meeting with Sean McVay and the LA Rams before the #NFLDraft?!@Ianfitzespn caught up with the 13th round pick after hearing his name called on Thursday night in Pittsburgh. pic.twitter.com/Wuej8yEePZ
Simpson said he met with McVay at team facilities and “talked for hours” about football. He said he was told not to say anything about that meeting so other teams would remain in the dark about the Rams’ plans.
“We tried to keep this under wraps as long as we could. It was something to where I knew they were interested but they wanted to make it private and didn’t want people to know that they were interested.
“I had some secret meetings with coach McVay and I was just trying to be on script and do what everybody told me and not to tell everybody. It was something to where I knew that they were interested, I just didn’t know when.”
The pick came as a massive surprise Thursday. Despite the Rams being in win-now mode, the team opted to take a quarterback of the future with its first-round pick. While that’s a high investment, Simpson isn’t expected to start for the Rams in 2026. That honor belongs to Matthew Stafford, who is coming off an MVP season.
Stafford, 38, is only under contract for one more season with the Rams and has flirted with retirement the past few offseasons. Despite that, Stafford and the Rams have reportedly engaged in extension talks that would keep the veteran under team control beyond the 2026 NFL season.
That extension — if completed — could complicate the Rams’ plans for Simpson, though it’s probably premature to worry about that now.
Given how high the Rams took Simpson, the rookie will almost certainly get a shot to start at some point in the near future. Stafford might be able to hold him off for a bit, but Simpson’s secret meetings with McVay suggest the Rams were far more excited about the pick than the team initially indicated.