Do You Believe Sean McVay Saying He Bought into the Rams Drafting Ty Simpson?

Sean McVay's Friday press conference, in which the Rams head coach addressed his subdued demeanor from the night before, did not pass Chris Brockman's sniff test. It passed Rich's. Rich, on his show, walked through why he believes McVay and Les Snead are in lock step on taking Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson 13th overall despite reigning MVP Matthew Stafford sitting in Malibu coaching his daughter's flag football team.

'I didn't think the conversation Thursday night into Friday into Friday night and into Saturday would be about this pick happening over Sean McVay's wishes based on the body language and his very clipped demeanor on Thursday night at the press conference,' Rich said. 'Everything I've heard since then as also confirmed by other people's reporting is these two are completely lock step on the same page and that Ty Simpson is in fact a kid who not only can run the offense of McVay and Les Snead based on what they have seen in just 15 starts. But he also has a brain that is locked into the way McVay thinks. Not just offensively, but ability to assimilate, remember, regurgitate, and execute. And they love him.'

McVay said the quiet part out loud at the Friday availability. 'You know, always want to be mindful of all right, how things come off, things like that,' McVay said. 'Very excited about last night, very excited about today. And couldn't be more excited about us continuing to lead together. But every decision that we make is collective and collaborative. And so for any of the questions or misunderstandings just based on my demeanor or disposition last night, I did want to get that out of the way. This is my buddy right here.'

Brockman wasn't buying it. 'No, this does not pass the sniff test,' he said. Rich countered with history and a stat. The last time a team drafted a quarterback in the first round the year after its starter won MVP was the 1967 Green Bay Packers, who took Don Horn 25th overall behind 33-year-old Bart Starr. Horn started zero games his first two years and was on the Broncos by 1971. Rich also flagged that Simpson posted the fourth-lowest interception percentage among Power Four quarterbacks in a season since 2015, behind only Dak Prescott, Caleb Williams, and Bo Nix. He pushed back on the Falcons-Pinnix comparison from a caller, arguing the Rams have the 29th pick to spend on Trent McDuffy, a roster ready to win now, and a Stafford who already knows the kid is coming. 'You're not pissing off your MVP quarterback,' Rich said. 'You can also with Trent McDuffy get short fields or even an early lead for Matthew before he even takes a snap.'