Stetson Bennett has found himself smack dab in the middle of the biggest story of the NFL Draft so far.
The LA Rams made the surprising decision to draft former Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson with the 13th overall pick of the draft Thursday night. They did this even though they still have Matthew Stafford as their starter and a solid backup in Bennet who has loads of experience.
While the Rams had a good reason to draft a QB this year (due to Jimmy Garoppolo thinking about retirement), selecting a player this early took everyone by surprise. That even includes head coach Sean McVay who has unintentionally stirred up a lot of drama since this pick was made.
NFL organizations love to share the moment they call their draft selection to inform them that they are picking them. The Rams released their video of the moment Simpson spoke with McVay right before the pick was announced, and it’s obvious that McVay wasn’t too happy.
Sean McVay has thrown Stetson Bennett in the middle of the NFL Draft’s biggest story
Ty Simpson gets the call from the Rams pic.twitter.com/sf869lShUE
— HoldenCantor (@HoldenCantor) April 24, 2026
On top of that, McVay even admitted himself that he didn’t do a lot of homework on Simpson before the draft as well.
Sean McVay ‘did not do a lot of homework on Ty Simpson’ - not sure I’ve ever seen anything like this on a 13th overall pick in the NFL Draft… let’s keep an eye on this relationship with Les Snead going forward pic.twitter.com/g52rQYgDe6
— John Frascella (Football) (@NFLFrascella) April 24, 2026
McVay was also asked about what this pick means for the future of the Rams quarterback room, and all he said was that Simpson has to be ready to compete against Bennett for the backup job this season.
McVay is too much of a professional to come out and say he hates this pick, but reading between the lines indicates that’s what might be on his mind. LA fans haven’t held back their thoughts though as they’ve been left to wonder why their favorite team would waste a first round pick like this.
Bennett so far has kept to himself since this pick. That’s the best thing he can do right now as it isn’t up to him to decide how the Rams will construct their roster.
All that’s left for him to do is put his head down, get to work, and use this as motivation to beat out Simpson to earn the backup job for this season.
Add us as a preferred source on Google