Why Cardinals HC Mike LaFleur Was NOT Surprised With the Rams Selection Of Ty Simpson

Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur joined The Rich Eisen Show with the perspective of a man whose draft room got exactly what it wanted, and whose former employer two states over made the league's most second-guessed pick.

Rich opened on Arizona's first-round selection of Notre Dame running back Jeremiah Love. The question was whether the Cardinals had been waiting for the Godfather offer that never came.

LaFleur did not dance.

"I was hoping nobody called and I really didn't care what the offer was because of how I feel about the guy that we got."

It is rare for a head coach to admit publicly that he was not actively shopping a top pick. LaFleur did, and it told you everything about how Arizona feels about Love.

The natural follow-up was about touches. The Cardinals already have James Conner and Trey Benson in the backfield. Adding a featured first-round back to that room is the kind of math problem that breaks fantasy drafts and offensive coordinators.

LaFleur waved it away.

"I'll never be upset with having too many good NFL players at a position."

He pointed back to his 2019 San Francisco staff, where four backs contributed across a single season. The reason, he said, is the running back position. The wear and tear of a 17-game schedule means the depth chart compresses by November whether the head coach plans for it or not.

Rich pivoted to Carson Beck, the Miami quarterback Arizona drafted to compete with Jacoby Brissett. LaFleur lit up.

The size and the natural throwing ability were the obvious starting points. The two things that actually sold the building, he said, were the experience and the ceiling on the moments Beck has already played in.

Forty-three games started. A 37-6 record. Three years in the SEC at Georgia and a season at Miami where the Hurricanes had to go on the road to Texas A&M and win out to chase a national championship berth. Beck, he said, has won a lot of games in environments that did not let him hide.

"There's some armor he's earned throughout his career, and I love that."

Will Beck enter a true competition for the starting job? LaFleur kept the answer process-oriented. The first job is teaching the playbook. Cadence and formations started yesterday. Beck, Brissett and Jacoby Gardner-Johnson all need the same foundational reps before any of it becomes a competition.

Rich saved his sharpest pivot for the end. The Rams used the 13th overall pick on Ty Simpson. LaFleur was previously on Sean McVay's staff. Was he surprised?

"I was surprised at Mr. Grumpy that night, because I know how excited he is about that quarterback."

LaFleur was direct. There was a lot of love for Simpson inside the Rams building long before the pick. He had seen it firsthand. The selection itself was not shocking to him at all.

It was a quietly revealing answer. The pick that confused half the league had been a long-running internal conviction in Los Angeles. The man who used to sit in the room said so on the record.