3 things that stood out in NFL Draft first round: Rams' surprise tops list | Opinion
It’s just like the Los Angeles Rams to go against the grain in the NFL draft. GM Les Snead did it again Thursday night.
It’s just like the Los Angeles Rams to go against the grain. While pretty much every other team addressed immediate needs while working the first round of the NFL draft – including the New York Jets with their three picks – Les Snead and Sean McVay looked to the future. They nabbed an understudy for reigning NFL MVP Matthew Stafford.
It’s not that Ty Simpson, the Alabama quarterback chosen 13th overall , saw this coming. There was no private workout with the Rams. He never talked to Snead, the crafty GM, until Thursday night.
Ditto for McVay, his new QB whisperer. There was no “Top 30” visit to Rams headquarters. Throughout the draft process, there was not much contact beyond visiting with scouts back on campus.
“I really had no clue,” Simpson said during a video conference not long after he bear-hugged Roger Goodell on the stage in Pittsburgh. Now Simpson has quite the hint of what the Rams – who typically don’t even hang on to first-round picks – really think of him. Simpson is pegged to be the Quarterback of the Future.