Decoding Sean McVay's tense press conference reaction after Rams baffling Ty Simpson pick

McVay had an interesting reaction to the Rams taking a QB with the 13th pick

John Breech

Apr 24, 2026

11:33 am ET

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7 min read

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The Los Angeles Rams made the most shocking pick during the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday and it's possible that no one was more shocked about the pick than head coach Sean McVay. At 13th overall, the Rams decided to take Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson, and I'm no body language expert, but it looked like McVay would have preferred to have taken literally any other player at 13th overall.

McVay's reaction to the pick during the Rams' post-draft press conference went viral almost instantly, so with that in mind, let's break down the entire situation.

Why the pick didn't really make any sense

The Rams' decision to take Simpson is almost unheard of for a team in their situation. With the pick, the Rams became the first team since 1967 to enter the draft with the reigning MVP at quarterback and still spend a first-round pick on a QB. The last time it happened came with the Packers, who had Bart Starr coming off an MVP season in 1966. Despite that fact, they decided to take Don Horn at 25th overall in 1967. Yes, this was 50 years ago, but the way it played out in Green Bay should be a lesson for the Rams: Horn rode the bench for two years behind Starr before finally getting a chance to start after the former MVP got injured in Horn's third season with the team. Overall, Horn started just six games in four seasons.

The problem with taking Simpson is that the Rams are a team that's trying to win now and Simpson simply isn't a player who's going to help them win this year. According to the oddsmakers, the Rams are the Super Bowl favorites for 2026 and when you're the favorite, you don't make a pick like this, you look for a player who can contribute right now. According to CBS Sports Research, the Rams are just the third Super Bowl favorite over the past 50 years to select a QB in the first round, joining the 1980 Steelers (Mark Malone) and the 1999 Vikings (Daunte Culpepper). Both quarterbacks started zero games in their rookie seasons and both quarterbacks only had one season with a winning record in their careers. That doesn't bode well for Simpson.

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Carter Bahns

Rams general manager Les Snead was actually asked on Thursday why he didn't draft a player who could contribute this year and he gave an interesting answer.

"I hate sitting here and going, 'You're a player away in a draft from the Super Bowl,'" Snead said. "At the end of the day, what we want to accomplish in the draft and any acquisitions that we have is try to engineer as competent a team as possible."

Snead has been one of the best general managers in the NFL over the past decade, but his answer certainly has some holes in it. If you're trying to put together a competent team, using the 13th overall pick on a player who's not going to play this year doesn't help much.

The Rams made it clear that Matthew Stafford is going to be the quarterback for as long as he wants to play, so if he wants to play for two or three more years, then Simpson is going to be sitting on the bench for two or three more years.

McVay's reaction said it all

If there's one coach who wears his emotions on his face, it's definitely McVay, and he was wearing those emotions on Thursday night, and everyone on the internet seemed to notice. Let's check in to see what McVay looked like as the Rams' post-draft press conference was kicking off.

> Mood pic.twitter.com/A6qvVrY5MZ

— Gary Klein (@LATimesklein) April 24, 2026

> Sean McVay did not want Ty Simpson. Oh my goodness. Please watch that Rams presser.

— Breiden Fehoko (@BreidenFehoko) April 24, 2026

McVay let Snead answer the first two questions of the press conference and didn't offer a single word.

> https://t.co/dRlDfSYTGe pic.twitter.com/nHeGDifCwE

— Breiden Fehoko (@BreidenFehoko) April 24, 2026

Out of the first four questions that McVay DID respond to on Thursday night, he didn't give a single answer that went longer than eight words. He also wouldn't commit to making Simpson the backup quarterback when he got asked who would be the No. 2 guy behind Stafford this year.

> Will Ty Simpson back up Matthew Stafford?

Sean McVay says "He's going to compete with Stetson"

— Bridget Condon (@BridgetCondon_) April 24, 2026

And, let's watch some video of that answer.

> Sean McVay couldn’t be more pumped about drafting Ty Simpson pic.twitter.com/lDnfC99JwT

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) April 24, 2026

At 13th overall, you'd think it would be a given that Simpson would be the backup, but McVay is clearly not ready to commit to anything. If Simpson doesn't win the backup job, that would make a bad pick even worse for the Rams.

Another interesting part of the press conference cam