Les Snead may have quietly tipped Rams' hand on stunning Ty Simpson pick

Nobody had the Los Angeles Rams selecting Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson with the 13th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft on their bingo cards. However, the club's general manager, Les Snead, may have subtly planted the seeds for the shocking move months ago.

Snead and the Rams reportedly met with Simpson's parents when they were in town for Alabama's Rose Bowl showdown with Indiana. The two sides exchanged valuable information ahead of the Crimson Tide star's looming choice to stay in school or go pro. And based on some details of their conversation, Los Angeles was plotting to catch everyone off guard well before they actually did.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport revealed that Snead gave the Simpson family the confidence to declare for the draft, and the rest is history.

"When Ty Simpson was trying to decide whether or not he should come out of Alabama and enter the draft, his father consulted with, among other people, [Rams GM Les Snead], who told him that Ty was in fact a first-rounder," Rapoport said.

Rams GM Les Snead’s pre-draft Ty Simpson suddenly becomes impossible to ignore

In retrospect, the signs were there. The Rams have been in on Simpson for quite some time and didn't make much effort to hide their interest. Snead giving such a strong endorsement makes much more sense now that the dust has settled.

It's wild to think the Simpson-Rams pairing that stunned the football world was almost predetermined. Rapoport's intel also sheds new light on the body language police who've been focusing on head coach Sean McVay's every move since Los Angeles' choice.

Los Angeles has evidently coveted Simpson for an extended period. Snead envisioned the Alabama passer as a Day 1 prospect — because that's where the Rams had him on their big board. The team is preparing for life without franchise signal-caller and reigning MVP Matthew Stafford, who's entering his age-38 campaign and taking things year by year.

For what it's worth, though, Simpson said he never personally spoke with Snead before landing with the Rams. Their lack of communication feels notable, but maybe Los Angeles' scouting department saw everything it needed from afar.

"This was my first time talking to Les [Snead] tonight," Simpson stated not long after hearing his name called. "This was my first contact."

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