The most important shock in Spherical 1 of the 2026 NFL Draft got here from the Los Angeles Rams, a win-now team that opted to draft its quarterback of the future.
With the thirteenth total decide and loads of expertise nonetheless on the board, the Rams selected Alabama passer Ty Simpson as the heir apparent to Matthew Stafford. It was quickly reported that head coach Sean McVay had spoken to Stafford earlier within the day to inform him concerning the resolution to draft a quarterback.
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Stafford’s response to the decide will probably be attention-grabbing. However what actually stood out Thursday evening was McVay’s response.
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Talking with reporters alongside Rams common supervisor Les Snead after the decide, a number of members of the media seen McVay, well-known for his animated persona, appeared subdued whereas speaking concerning the decide.
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When requested about talking with Stafford, McVay confirmed he did and mentioned “I’ll preserve that between us” to the pure follow-up query of what was mentioned. When requested if Simpson would again up Stafford, McVay bluntly mentioned “We’ll see, he’s going to compete with [incumbent backup Stetson Bennett].
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Snead, who reportedly has a strong relationship with Simpson’s father and advised him about entering the draft, was noticeably extra energetic. Simpson also said on Sirius XM that he had never met McVay.
At one level, Snead and McVay had been requested if that they had particularly focused Simpson within the draft and McVay reeled off a solution that lasted for effectively longer than a minute. An excerpt:
“There was loads of gamers that we favored. While you do have a look at it, I believe the factor you favored concerning the physique of labor is — let’s make one factor clear, that is Matthew’s group. You get an opportunity to have the ability to deal with the backup quarterback, we’ve received Stetson, we’ve talked concerning the significance of [former Rams back-up Jimmy Garoppolo], so to have the ability to add any individual that you could consider a physique of labor that he was requested to play the place and loads of issues that do translate: ideas, studying along with his ft, among the various things within the dropback and the play motion recreation, the motion recreation.
“So there’s loads of issues that [Alabama offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb] did that’s similar to how we function. So it made it a better analysis to have the ability to say, ‘Alright, what would that appear like if he did translate it to our stage?’ However there was loads of gamers that we favored and there was loads of thought that went into it.”
There are a number of doable outcomes from right here. Stafford might preserve enjoying for years and preserve the Rams usually aggressive. Simpson might take over shortly and change into a star. Simpson might take over shortly and change into a bust.
Yahoo Sports’ Charles McDonald is not one of the optimistic voices, giving the selection an “F.” Simpson posted season with Alabama final 12 months, but in addition light down the stretch and doesn’t fairly have the bodily traits in you see in prime quarterback prospects.
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No matter occurs, Thursday evening represented a shift for the Rams, and McVay’s response might find yourself being dissected repeatedly if it doesn’t work out.
