INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Rams assistant general manager John McKay and director of scouting, strategy and analytics Nicole Blake spoke with the media after the team made its fifth and final selection of the 2026 NFL Draft, discussing the scouting staff's evaluation of quarterback Ty Simpson, planning for the future and more.

Three takeaways from that session:

Simpson's football IQ made him a fit to work with McVay; Rams not concerned about Simpson having only one year of starting experience

Speaking about the pre-draft process with Simpson, Blake said the team began doing its due diligence on quarterbacks last summer when general manager Les Snead attended the Manning Passing Academy.

"You have to be smart to play here," Blake said, when asked what made them believe Simpson would work well with McVay. "You can tell just watching the film that he knows how to play the position. Super smart quarterback. Obviously grew up with a dad as a coach, so he's lived and breathed it for his entire life. And it's a rare trait in a guy who has played a year, really, in college football to find that. So that was something that stood out to us."

McKay added that lack of experience – he started just 15 games in college – wasn't something they were concerned about it.

"Obviously, he'd spent the time in Alabama there learning, he was in a high-level program, and then we were able to evaluate all the types of throws using a lot of big moments, so we felt like there was enough in that sample size where we didn't have any pause about the starts," McKay said. "I know it's something that a lot of people weigh differently, but for us, that wasn't a big hold up, and something we felt confident on. We felt confident based on what he had put on tape, that he was the right guy."

Besides Simpson's intelligence, Blake said the other traits about Simpson that stood out to the Rams were that "you watched him play in a pro-style system. He made some pro-style throws," which made it "very easy" to see the transition.

Planning for the future, but not ruling out being able to make an impact in the short-term

A big offseason priority has been maximizing the roster to capitalize on quarterback Matthew Stafford's return and remaining time with the team – however long that may be – which externally set expectations for acquiring players who could make an immediate impact in this weekend's draft. The selections appeared to show an approach designed on planning for the long-term future, which McKay acknowledged Saturday. McKay indicated it was important to have succession plans because of the "high number" of "high-level" contributors scheduled to become free agents after the 2026 season.

"Would definitely say that's something we're always taking into account," McKay said, when asked about the returning roster continuity and whether this year's draft was more about planning for the future than a normal draft. "And I think when you look at our free agents coming up after this upcoming season, that was something we really wanted to be able to plan for, obviously, because it's a high number of guys, high number of high-level contributors. So having guys with succession plans in place really helps, and we're fortunate where our roster's in a place where we felt like we didn't have a ton of glaring needs. We were able to take guys that we really felt confident in being contributors right away, but also be starters, three, four years down the line, two years down the line, whatever it may be. But that was definitely something we thought about a lot in all the guys we selected. So we're happy with how that turned out."

Snead said this week that the Rams have made progress on contract extension talks with Stafford, and McVay has said it wouldn't surprise him if Stafford plays more than one season. However, wide receiver Davante Adams, offensive linemen Kevin Dotson, Steve Avila and Warren McClendon Jr., tight ends Colby Parkinson and Davis Allen and defensive end Kobie Turner are among those entering the final year of the respective contracts.

Wide receiver CJ Daniels' skill set offered a lot of what Rams value

The Rams moved up 10 spots from 207 to 197 to get Daniels, and got great Day 3 value in return based on their evaluation of him.

"He fits a lot of the things we're looking for in the offense," McKay said. "He runs routes at a high level. He's got great feel for the game. He's got a big catch radius, strong hands. So for us, it was a great fit, and we felt like he was one of the last ones still available that could really impact our team this year and moving forward. So it was a good one."