Los Angeles Rams HC Sean McVay explains away draft day controversy
The Los Angeles Rams had a weird NFL draft over the weekend.
Every team's fanbase questions some, if not all, of the moves their teams make in the draft (see the 49ers). But no team has had its head coach in front of more cameras explaining why its moves are the right ones than the Rams.
Sean McVay, Rams head coach, was right there with GM Les Snead on Thursday night after they made their surprise first-round selection, Ty Simpson (Alabama). And that is where the trouble started.
It didn't take a body language expert to tell something was a bit off with the Rams' initial press conference. Some might even say McVay looked angry when he assured the world that their first-round pick was going to back up their MVP-winning quarterback, Matthew Stafford.
The initial interview sparked a bit of a firestorm, so McVay and the Rams spent the rest of the weekend putting it out.
LA Rams, Sean McVay defend their first-round pick
The Rams' pick was the talk of the draft, so much so that John Lynch, GM of the division rival 49ers, seemed a bit amused. So McVay and Snead were back at the podium the next day, explaining their pick once again.
"What do you guys think, am I angry right now?" McVay quipped to open the second press conference.
"The one thing that can never be doubted is we couldn't be more lock step in every decision we make," said McVay, whose tone was definitely lighter. "We're excited about it. Very excited about last night. Very excited about today. And couldn't be more excited about us continuing to lean in together, and about every decision we make being collective and collaborative. So for any questions or misunderstanding based on my demeanor or disposition last night, I did want to get it out of the way."
McVay went on to say that he received texts saying that he came off angry, but he played that off by saying that sometimes he can appear to be "grumpy" and that his demeanor was nothing more than that.
But not even that was enough to quell the chatter.
Maybe it was because the body language was so off, or maybe it was because, to most fans and draft analysts, it doesn't make sense to pick a backup quarterback with the 13th overall pick, but whatever the reason, McVay was back in front of the cameras a day later. This time, on ESPN.
Peter Schrager worked for the NFL Network for years before moving over to ESPN last year. ESPN ended up purchasing NFL Network and RedZone from the NFL, so it wasn't a big deal to have his old Good Morning Football running mate, Kyle Brandt, join him on ESPN to have McVay on in front of the cameras for a third time on Saturday, explaining his team's first-round pick.
Ty Simpson is seen as the second-best quarterback, behind Fernando Mendoza (Indiana) who was the first overall pick to the Las Vegas Raiders, but Simpson's selection has been in the news much more than Mendoza's.
Thursday, multiple reports came out stating that Les Snead, who grew up in Alabama, had some sort of friendship or business relationship with the Simpson family where Ty's father, University of Tennessee-Martin coach Jason Simpson, consulted with Snead directly before the draft.
According to Albert Breer, "Snead helped advise the family when Jason's son, Ty, was making a decision on whether or not to declare for the draft. Now Ty Simpson is a Ram."
While the Ty Simpson pick feels like a reach for most, it is typical of a Rams franchise that doesn't really value first-round picks.
In the 10 NFL drafts since the 2017 season, Ty Simpson is only the second Rams first-round pick (Jared Verse at 19 in 2024) because they traded all of the rest of them. In fact, the only reason they had the 13th pick this year is that they traded their first-round pick last year to Atlanta for it.
So whether you love or hate the pick, it's actually very on brand for the Los Angeles Rams.
Related: NFL Draft expert nailed the most controversial 1st round pick
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This story was originally published April 27, 2026 at 4:34 PM.