Sean McVay and Les Snead strike a subdued tone after drafting QB Ty Simpson
LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles Rams have a roster that is Super Bowl ready.
So on Thursday, with the 13th pick in the NFL draft, the Rams looked beyond the Matthew Stafford era to the future.
The Rams selected Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson, making him the heir apparent to the reigning NFL most valuable player.
"I was just super blessed and super excited," Simpson told reporters during a videoconference. "The fact that an organization like the Los Angeles Rams believed in me, took a chance on me, it's just something that I'm so grateful for."
With Stafford, star receivers Puka Nacua and Davante Adams and a defense featuring star edge rusher Jared Verse and the recently acquired cornerback Trent McDuffie, the Rams are regarded among the favorites to play in Super Bowl LXI at SoFi Stadium in February.
Rather than adding a player that could potentially help them immediately, the Rams opted to select Simpson, making him the first quarterback chosen in the first round by the Rams since 2016, when they traded up a record 14 spots to pick Jared Goff No. 1 overall.
If the Rams were thrilled with their choice, it was more subdued than obvious during general manager Les Snead's and coach Sean McVay's joint news conference. The session lacked their trademark ebullience and back-and-forth that characterized previous draft-day news conferences.
McVay said he spoke with Stafford before the Rams selected Simpson, and he reiterated to reporters that this was Stafford's team.
Stafford, 38, and the Rams are expected to work out an adjustment to his contract for this season, but whether Stafford intends to play beyond 2026 is unknown.
Simpson started only 15 games at Alabama, but that was enough for McVay and Snead to determine that he could be developed into an eventual starter. Last season, as a fourth-year junior, Simpson passed for 3,567 yards and 28 touchdowns while leading the Crimson Tide to an 11-4 record.
McVay said that much of what Simpson was asked to do at Alabama in terms of concepts, reading defenses, drop backs, play-action and movement would translate to the Rams' scheme.
"It made it an easier evaluation to be able to kind of say, 'All right, what would that look like if you did translate it to our level," McVay said, adding, "We're always going to make decisions that we think are best for the short and the long term, but we'll be excited to able to get to work with him."
Snead said the perseverance Simpson displayed during his four seasons at Alabama would serve him well with the Rams. Snead cited how Simpson bounced back last season after Alabama lost its opener against Florida State.
"The sky was falling in the state of Alabama," said Snead, who grew up in the state and played at Auburn. "But to see probably from that point forward how they progressed as a team and him as a quarterback into the playoffs, that's just the perseverance that you have when you go through, let's call it, hard things."
Simpson joins a quarterback group that also includes fourth-year pro Stetson Bennett. Veteran Jimmy Garoppolo, Stafford's backup the last two seasons, is a free agent and mulling retirement, according to Snead and McVay. The selection of Simpson might preclude the Rams from making a run for Garoppolo to return.
"It's probably not necessary now, going this route," McVay said.
Simpson said he met briefly with Rams scouts when he was at Alabama but had no real inclination that they would choose him.
He said he was "super pumped" to play for McVay - "He's a quarterback genius" - and to join the other quarterbacks and learn from Stafford.
"He's one of the greatest all-time, quarterback-wise," Simpson said. "We watched his film all the time when I was at 'Bama. ... Stuff the Rams did and coach McVay, so the fact that I get to be in a room and soak up all that knowledge is something I couldn't ask for a better situation."
The Rams go into Friday with one pick in the second round and one in the third.
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This story was originally published April 23, 2026 at 7:06 PM.