After being selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the first round of the NFL draft on Thursday, quarterback Ty Simpson downplayed his pre-draft interaction with the team, calling it “really brief.”
The ex-Alabama signal-caller admitted Monday that the communication was far more extensive, as he had a private meeting with Rams coach Sean McVay.
The Rams already have Matthew Stafford, 38, as their starting QB, but they chose Simpson for a long-term view.
Simpson said Monday on ESPN Radio’s “Amber & Ian” of his pre-draft communication with McVay, “We tried to keep this under wraps as long as we could. 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.”
The discussion lasted “hours and hours,” according to Simpson, “and it was just football. It was just straight football. And it was like a kid in a candy store. 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.”
McVay was viewed by some analysts as portraying a negative vibe in interviews after the Rams chose Simpson with the No. 13 overall selection. He said, “Let’s make one thing clear, this is Matthew’s team.”
The next day, though he said he “couldn’t be more excited about being able to add (Simpson).”
On Saturday, McVay added about the team’s quarterback situation, “Whenever that time comes for (Simpson) to get an opportunity to be Matthew’s successor will be on Matthew’s terms.”
Simpson said Thursday of the pairing with Stafford, “It’s something that I cherish, being in the same room as a first-ballot Hall of Famer and a guy who is so smart like (McVay). We watched his film all the time when I was at ‘Bama, all the stuff they did. … So the fact that I get to be in a room and soak up all that knowledge, I couldn’t ask for a better situation.”
