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The Rams‘ interest in Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson was always much deeper than they let on.
But the signs of their infatuation were always there. Like when they sent their southeast area scout as their lone representative to Simpson’s pro day in Tuscaloosa last month.
Nothing against Billy Johnson at all. He’s very good at what he does. That’s evidenced by the talent the Rams keep pumping into their building every year.
But in contrast to the Raiders, who sent an army of executives and coaches to Fernando Mendoza’s pro day in Indiana, the Rams went as minimally as possible for Simpson.
It was a classic head fake to downplay their intentions with the Crimson Tide quarterback. Not so much to their fans, but to the handful of teams across the NFL that needed a quarterback.
The esteem the NFL holds for Rams general manager Les Snead and head coach Sean McVay is so high that when they see potential in a prospect, especially a quarterback, other teams will want that prospect too.
The Jets and Cardinals come to mind. Both passed on Simpson with the picks they held at No. 2 and No. 3, with the idea of potentially selecting him later in the first round or early in the second.
Concerned that those teams might learn of their interest in Simpson, and perhaps trade up in the draft to snag him before their first pick at No. 13, the Rams kept their courtship of Simpson decidedly low-key.
That included the clandestine meeting Simpson recently revealed he had with Rams head coach Sean McVay and general manager Les Snead in the days leading up to the draft. In that meeting, McVay and Simpson conversed for multiple hours.
“They talked football at a high level,” Snead said during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show.
Remember, Simpson completely downplayed his pre-draft interactions with the Rams shortly after they selected him in the first round last Thursday.
“It was really brief, to be honest with you,” Simpson said at the time. “I met with some scouts in Alabama, and that was really it. They talked to my agent, but that really wasn’t much.”
Simpson completely reversed course this week during an appearance on ESPN’s “Amber and Ian” show, finally admitting that he and the Rams not only had a far deeper connection than many assumed, but that they wanted to keep those feelings as confidential as possible.
“We tried to keep this under wraps as long as we could,” Simpson said during his radio hit. “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.
“So, I had some secret meetings with Coach McVay, and I just was trying to be on script and do what everybody told me and not to tell anybody.”
“He stayed on script,” Snead said.
The interactions with McVay are of particular importance, given his stoic demeanor during his post-first-round media availability on Thursday. To some pundits, it gave the impression that McVay did not support the Rams’ decision to use such a high draft pick on a player that might not see the field until 2028.
Nothing could be further from the truth, of course. Anyone who knows the relationship between McVay and Snead, and the collaborative manner in which they make personnel decisions, knows Snead would have never selected Simpson or anyone else at that point in the draft unless McVay was completely on board.
Turns out, McVay and Simpson had been building a relationship for a while now. No surprise that the son of a college football coach would vibe as well as he did with McVay during their private meeting.
“It was just straight football. And it was like a kid in a candy store,” Simpson said. “Me and him are sitting there, and we’re just going back and forth. You can tell the obsession he has for the game, and you can tell the love he has for quarterback play.
“It’s something that I appreciate, and it’s something that I enjoy because I really enjoy playing the position and value the position. So, being with him and then getting to know him and then just seeing a little bit of how I would get coached if I was fortunate enough to go there was something that I couldn’t have asked for a better situation.”
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