Sean McVay Shuts Down Negative Narratives Surrounding Rams' Ty Simpson Decision
Sean McVay had a simple answer for everyone questioning the Los Angeles Rams' first-round decision. Go watch the tape. The Rams made Ty Simpson the 13th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Certainly, a move that immediately sparked debate across the league.
Selecting a quarterback when Matthew Stafford had just wrapped up his first MVP season raised plenty of eyebrows. But McVay didn't flinch when addressing the noise around the pick during a recent appearance on "The Rich Eisen Show."
"You like the body of work, you say, 'Hey, this guy's got the potential to develop one day into what we would deem a possible starting quarterback,'" McVay said.
For the Rams' head coach, the evaluation started and ended with what Simpson put on film. Everything else was secondary.
McVay Pushes Back on the Critics
McVay was direct in shutting down the idea that drafting Simpson meant Los Angeles was already moving past Stafford or giving up a better option elsewhere. He acknowledged that roster decisions are never clean and that every season brings its own reset regardless of what was built the year before.
"Let's not get it twisted. We're trying to win right now, and we've got decisions for the short and the long term. Sometimes leadership can be lonely. I am not gonna pretend to make perfect decisions, but everything that we do is what we believe is in the best intent for the collective," McVay added.
The pick was never about signaling a changing of the guard. It was about doing what the Rams believed was right for the full roster, both now and down the line.
Was Stafford Part of the Process?
One of the more telling details McVay shared was how Stafford was handled once Simpson became a serious target.
The Rams brought Stafford into the conversation before anything was finalized, walking him through the reasoning and making sure he understood where the organization was coming from.
"The meeting that we had with [Matthew Stafford] was part of the evaluation process, as was the tape, as was the vetting that our scouts and Les [Snead] and a lot of people did, as with any other player," McVay said. "Once you then settle on that would be the direction that we go if he's there at 13, then you say, 'Hey, let's sit down with our quarterback. Make sure he understands why we're doing this.' You articulate the thought process so that there's clarity and there's an understanding of the intent. And he was a total stud about it."
Stafford responded the way you'd expect from a veteran who's been around long enough to understand how the league works. There's no reason for the Rams to push out a quarterback who finished the 2025 season with a 109.2 passer rating, 4,707 yards, 46 touchdowns and 8 interceptions across 17 games.
He earned his third Pro Bowl selection and took home his first MVP award. That kind of production doesn't get shown the door.
Simpson steps into one of the better situations a young quarterback could land in. A proven head coach, a Super Bowl-caliber roster and a reigning MVP to learn from. The Rams aren't in a hurry. They're just building for what comes next.
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This story was originally published April 29, 2026 at 2:15 PM.