Sean McVay and Les Snead always work in lockstep. They see eye-to-eye on most things, which has helped them construct a championship-caliber roster seemingly every year in Los Angeles.
They’ve even compared themselves to brothers, boasting an excellent relationship between head coach and GM. But during the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft on Thursday night, they may not have been totally on the same page.
At least, that’s kind of the way it looks when reading their differing body languages during the post-draft press conference after selecting Ty Simpson with the 13th overall pick in the first round. Snead drove the ship in the presser, answering most of the questions, while McVay sat next to him, barely cracking a smile. It’s something a lot of fans noticed when reading the comments on the YouTube stream.
“McVay looks as depressed as most Rams fans right now, this was clearly Sneads pick,” one fan wrote.
“McVay looks like he was put on TIME-OUT! LOL,” another said.
“He’s shooting lasers right now. You can see the smoke coming from mcvay’s ears,” read another comment.
It might be a stretch to say there was some tension in the room, but there certainly wasn’t much visible excitement between the two leaders of this team. McVay was brief with his answers for the most part, declining to say what he talked to Matthew Stafford about when he gave him a heads up that this pick was coming.
Similar observations about McVay’s mood in his post-draft press conference were shared on X, too.
Gary Klein of the LA Times noticed a lack of energy in the press conference, as well.
The conclusion many people are making are that this was Snead’s pick and not McVay’s. The GM of a team typically has the final say in a draft pick, so it’s possible Snead overrode McVay with this selection and McVay wanted a different player.
It was also Snead who told Simpson’s dad months ago that he saw him as a first-round prospect, so it’s obvious he thought highly of the Alabama quarterback. The question is, did McVay?
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Sean McVay didn’t look excited about Ty Simpson pick, which fans noticed
Reporting by Cameron DaSilva, Rams Wire / Rams Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
