It was a game of theatricality and deception being played by the Rams in the lead-up to the 2026 NFL Draft.

The Rams and quarterback Ty Simpson were apparently sneaking around the past few months, including a pre-draft “secret meeting” that sealed the deal.

“We tried to keep this under wraps as long as we could,” Simpson told Ian Fitzsimmons in an ESPN Radio interview. “It was something to where I knew they were interested, but they wanted to make it private and didn’t want people to know that they were interested.”

Simpson certainly held up his end of the bargain in the draft process, not spilling the beans.

“So, I had some secret meetings with coach [Sean] McVay, and I just was trying to be on script and do what everybody told me and not to tell anybody,” he said.

It’s possible there was one leak, though, as Ringer podcaster Todd McShay projected that Simpson could be drafted by the Rams at No. 13 overall.

“I think (general manager) Les Snead is the biggest wild card of the first round of this draft … What if… we’re in love with Ty Simpson, and so we’re going to take him at 13,” McShay said on the “Bill Simmons Podcast” during draft week in what was considered a surprise procrastination.

“Don’t ask any more questions, we don’t have to dwell on it. I know that at one point the Rams really liked Ty Simpson.”

Where that leak came from is a mystery but Simpson continued on ESPN Radio that he was “told to not say anything … because they didn’t want anybody to know.”

Of course, if it became mainstream news that the Rams, one of the league’s sharpest and most successful franchises, were interested in Simpson, someone could have traded ahead of them to get him.

So it appears that McVay’s dour post-draft press conference, which many took to mean he was unhappy with the pick, belied his actual feelings.

Now that he’s a Ram, Simpson will compete for the backup role behind Matthew Stafford as the team looks to compete for a Super Bowl again.