The first round of the NFL draft is always filled with at least one surprising pick. This year, that surprise belonged to the Seattle Seahawks' arch rivals... the Los Angeles Rams. During the 2025 season, it was evident the Seahawks and Rams were far and away the two best teams in the league. Very little separated Seattle and LA. Although the Seahawks ultimately had the edge, the gap between them and the Rams was as razor thin as it gets. Los Angeles had a golden opportunity to close said gap with the No. 13 overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft.

So what did they do with the aforementioned golden opportunity? They drafted a backup quarterback.

No, really. Instead of grabbing a player who could make an immediate impact this year, they planned for the future with Alabama's Ty Simpson... a quarterback with a grand total of 15 starts to his name. Two things came to mind when LA picked Simpson: first, this is as clear an indication that the 2026 NFL season is going to be Matthew Stafford's swan song. He won the MVP last year, and the now-38-year-old quarterback is obviously making one last run at a Super Bowl which is back in Los Angeles this year. Drafting his replacement so high tells us the Rams intend to move on sooner than later.

And secondly... it might be Sean McVay's last year with the team as well, because the Rams' head coach did not appear thrilled with the pick at all. During their press conference after the first round, McVay could hardly mask the contempt he obviously felt at his team drafting a player he never met during the pre-draft process.

I don’t think Sean McVay is thrilled with the Ty Simpson pick 🫣(h/t @benboomjamin) pic.twitter.com/qKRpa3PtMn

Two years ago, the Atlanta Falcons had the surprise pick of the draft by selecting Washington's Michael Penix Jr. at No. 8 overall, despite having signed Kirk Cousins to a massive contract. In the ultimate grand irony, the Rams had the No. 13 pick because of a trade with the Falcons. I guess in their honor they too wanted to make a bizarre quarterback selection.

This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: 2026 NFL draft: Sean McVay not happy with Ty Simpson at No. 13