Ty Simpson reveals that he had 'secret' meeting with Rams coach Sean McVay before NFL Draft originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Much was made of Rams coach Sean McVay's supposed lack of interest after the organization selected QB Ty Simpson in the top half of the first round, but it turns out L.A.'s pursuit of Simpson was more wide-ranging than previously believed.
Simpson revealed that he and McVay spent "hours" getting to know each other before the draft, dealing another blow to the narrative that the Super Bowl-winning coach and GM Les Snead weren't on the same page when it came to drafting the quarterback.
The Rams and Simpson worked to keep their plans under wraps, and the decision to take him at No. 13 evidently wasn't as much of a shock to both parties as it was to the rest of the NFL.
Here's what Simpson had to say about his "secret" meetings with McVay.
MORE: What Ty Simpson pick means for Matthew Stafford, Rams moving forward
Simpson told ESPN Radio on Monday that he held private meetings with McVay leading up to the draft.
"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," Simpson said. "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 initially said after being drafted that the Rams had only communicated with his agent.
Instead, Simpson revealed Monday that, in one of his meetings with McVay, the two "talked for hours and hours" about nothing but football.
"You can tell the obsession he has for the game, and you can tell the love he has for quarterback play," Simpson said.
MORE:Why Rams received worst draft grade of all 32 teams
Simpson's comments come less than a week after McVay had to push back on the narrative that he wasn't on board with the selection. After McVay appeared solemn in the Rams' press conference following the first round and didn't sound overly excited when he made the call to Simpson, he came back the next day and told reporters his demeanor was a combination of non-football issues and wanting to maintain a level of respect for Matthew Stafford.
The long conversations between Simpson and McVay may have been one reason why McVay didn't sound like he was over the moon when he made his draft call to Simpson: the two already knew each other well, and Simpson likely knew he was going to be a Ram unless someone traded up ahead of the 13th pick.
McVay has his quarterback of the future. The question now is how long it will take for him to succeed reigning MVP Matthew Stafford.