The Los Angeles Rams tried their hardest to keep their interest in Ty Simpson a secret, but there’s at least one person they couldn’t hide it from. Former Rams offensive coordinator and current Arizona Cardinals coach Mike LaFleur was there for the beginnings of Los Angeles’ evaluation of Simpson. Though he wasn’t in the more recent draft conversations, he always knew the Rams liked him.
And so when they drafted Simpson with the 13th pick, he wasn’t surprised at all. The only thing that shocked him was Sean McVay’s demeanor afterwards, showing little excitement about the pick in Round 1.
“I was surprised at Mr. Grumpy that night because I know how excited he is about that quarterback. He always really liked that quarterback,” LaFleur said of McVay on the “Rich Eisen Show” Tuesday.
Although the coaching staff didn’t get into draft mode until after the season, they did begin looking at prospects while he was still there. And he says, “there was a lot of love for Ty Sipson in that building.”
“The one thing that we can say as coaches is you don’t really get the evaluation process until you’re done with the season and obviously in L.A. we went to the NFC championship so you kind of were a week or two behind or whatnot,” he said. “But there was a lot of love for Ty Simpson in that building. Obviously, I was in that building so that wasn’t shocking to me at all. How it got to that point, where they were all in lockstep for the 13th pick, obviously, I wasn’t there for those conversations, but the beginning of it, I know Les, Sean and the rest of them all were really excited.”
Of course, the Cardinals were interested in Simpson, too. They were one of three teams that were closely linked to Simpson, along with the Rams and the New York Jets. They had a chance to take him at No. 3 but opted for Jeremiyah Love instead.
LaFleur said he has a “ton of respect” for Simpson and praised him as a prospect, noting his play against high-level competition. And he believes Simpson landed in the perfect spot with the Rams.
“I think for him, what a great situation. I can’t imagine any better situation than behind Matthew Stafford because you get to watch a guy do it at the highest level. On top of it, Matthew, I can’t imagine a better person out there to be working with. My love for Matthew is out there. I can’t say enough about him, so for Ty to be behind him, that’s cool.”
LaFleur and the Cardinals will see Simpson twice a year in the NFC West whenever he takes over as the Rams’ starting quarterback.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Mike LaFleur knew ‘Mr. Grumpy’ and the Rams ‘always really liked’ Ty Simpson
Reporting by Cameron DaSilva, Rams Wire / Rams Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
