Ty Simpson reveals he had secret meetings with Sean McVay ahead of NFL Draft

Dec 19, 2025; Norman, OK, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson (15) gestures in the second half against the Oklahoma Sooners at Gaylord Family OK Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Ty Simpson revealed Monday he actually did meet with Sean McVay before the Los Angeles Rams took him with the No. 13 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Simpson previously downplayed how involved the Rams were in his pre-draft process, and accusations about McVay’s demeanor toward the Rams’ pick after it was made led some to wonder whether the head coach was even on board with the pick. It now appears that all of this was part of a plan to draw attention away from the Rams’ interest in Simpson.

“We tried to keep this under wraps as long as we could,” Simpson said Monday via ESPN’s Sara Barshop. “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.”

Simpson has now been tagged with the quarterback of the future tag by the franchise.

McVay expressed he was excited to have Simpson after day two of the draft.

“There were other things that had nothing to do with that, which that is normal life,” said McVay. “The main thing was couldn’t be more excited about being able to add him but also understanding of how much I love Matthew Stafford, how respectful you want to always be to just the way things can be interpreted. The demeanor would have been stoic by nature because we are excited, but it is Matthew’s football team, excited to be able to add Ty. What a blessing it is for him to be able to learn from Matthew, be able to come into this atmosphere and environment. Whenever that time comes for him to get the opportunity be Matthew’s successor will be on Matthew’s terms.”