Sean McVay seemed somewhere else after Rams took Ty Simpson originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Los Angeles Rams made arguably the most surprising selection of Thursday's first round when they spent the 13th overall pick on Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson.
The pick definitely caught some attention, and what truly had fans talking by the end of the night was the look on HC Sean McVay's face when he discussed it.
Multiple reporters who covered the press conference noted that McVay came across as unusually flat.
The Athletic's Nate Atkins, who has covered a lot of first-round pick pressers, posted that it was "by far the most muted I have seen a regime about the player they drafted."
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The LA Times' Gary Klein echoed that, noting the presser lacked the "trademark ebullience and sense of humor" McVay and GM Les Snead usually bring.
FWIW, of all the draft pressers with Snead and McVay, whether it involved a first-round pick or a second-round pick, this one lacked their trademark ebullience and sense of humor.
Snead, meanwhile, was visibly more energetic. Simpson told SiriusXM that he had never even met McVay.
McVay called the Rams "Matthew's team" more than once and insisted the pick would have no bearing on ongoing extension talks with Stafford, who was the NFL's Most Valuable Player last season and had the Rams a win away from the Super Bowl.
🚨🚨BREAKING NEWS🚨🚨#RAMS HC SEAN MCVAY APPEARS TO BE EXTREMELY ANGRY THAT THEY PICKED QB TY SIMPSON WITH THE 13TH PICK.McVay was not happy throughout the entire press conference tonight.Sean is extremely tight with starter Matt Stafford.YIKES 😳 pic.twitter.com/UQ77K83oXX
McVay confirmed he had spoken to Stafford before the pick was made and said he would keep the details of that conversation private.
It may mean nothing. But it is worth noting that Simpson said he'd never met McVay, Snead was reportedly the one with a relationship to Simpson's family, and McVay spent over a minute at the podium explaining why the pick made sense.
Sometimes, that is a coach selling himself on something as much as he is selling it to the press.
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