00:00Oh boy, you could have knocked me over with a damn feather last night. Wow, are you kidding me?
00:08The ramps, the LA ramps, my LA ramps, the Super Bowl favorite LA ramps, at 13 overall, take
00:17Ty Simpson. Wait, what? That was a stunner. That was one of the all-time stunners.
00:28California Post with a brilliant back page heir apparent. My goodness. This is a reach
00:35without question. This was one of those where you had to make sure that you weren't getting
00:41punked. I couldn't believe it. Now, I thought for sure Makai Lemon from USC in Los Angeles
00:50would be the pick. I've called Makai Lemon the next Amon Ross St. Brown. This was the
00:56guy. Instead, you saw the clip from his press conference. Sean McVay looked like he sucked
01:01on a lemon. He couldn't get over the fact that Ty Simpson was the guy. Now, listen, I want
01:08to make sure that I'm crystal clear here on a few things, right? Because I think that this
01:12is kind of a layered situation, and I want to make sure that we don't leave anything to
01:19the imagination. I'm not a Ty Simpson fan. I thought Ty Simpson was a day two pick. I think
01:25this is a reach. I think that Sean McVay obviously is involved in everything, and Sean McVay is
01:34a gem. And I think the Rams organization, and I want to stress this, right? The Rams organization's
01:40the best. Like, not good, not great. You can make the case I have here on Shine Time. The Rams
01:47organization is the best in the National Football League. Top to bottom, ownership, Kevin Demoff,
01:54Les Snead, Sean McVay, everyone involved, they are superb. And in that regard, in a lot of ways,
02:01you give them the benefit of the doubt. And I want to also make sure we mention all of this.
02:05The Rams had two first-round picks. They traded their first-round pick to the Kansas City Chiefs
02:10for Trent McDuffie. That was the signature move of any team in the offseason. They had a problem.
02:17They saw a problem. Cornerback position. You look at what happened last year, specifically on
02:21Championship Sunday against the Seahawks and Jackson Smith and Jigba. He's still running.
02:25See a problem, fix a problem. That's what a great organization does. Now, I also want to make sure
02:32we're not crazy here when we start talking about Matthew Stafford. Matthew Stafford is the MVP. Not,
02:39you know, he won an MVP lifetime ago. Literally just won it. Was handed the award earlier this
02:45calendar year. Now, he's also 38 years old. And I do want to jog the mental rolodex to a couple
02:52of
02:53things from last year. Number one, I picked the Rams to win the Super Bowl when you look at training
02:58camp in August of 2025. But Matthew Stafford couldn't get on the field. Matthew Stafford couldn't
03:05stand up. The back was so bad for Matthew Stafford, it was worrisome. I'm happy I didn't change my pick.
03:11Rams obviously had a great season. But obviously, the back was troublesome and problematic. I also
03:18feel compelled to reference a take that I had last year in the NFL draft that I thought the Rams
03:25in the first round should consider Jackson Dart or Shador Sanders because they needed a quarterback
03:34of the future. And smart teams, great teams at the end of the day, they get their quarterback of the
03:42future when they don't have to reach for it, when you don't press for it, when you're not in panic
03:48mode. We've seen that so many times in NFL history where you must draft a quarterback and everything is a
03:55complete and utter disaster. I still don't like the pick. In fact, I'm not a fan of it at all.
04:01And I think
04:02Lemon, for a team that is a success, is going to be defined by whether or not you win a
04:06championship. I think
04:08Makai Lemon was the perfect pick. And I am still floored that they didn't make it. I thought it was
04:14just
04:14Captain Obvious to help this team find a way to go win a championship. I think if you're a 49ers
04:20fan
04:20watching, you left. I think if you're a Seahawks fan watching, you snickered. Now, I think the Rams are
04:27the team to beat when you take a look at the Super Bowl odds. And Vegas backs me up on
04:31that. And I want
04:32to make sure that we, because these are up to the minute, right? These are the odds today,
04:39this second on DraftKings as we speak. And this is the take a breath portion of the program, right? Again,
04:48great organization. I thought the Rams yesterday were the favorites for the Super Bowl. I did not like what they
04:54did at pick 13. They are still today in Vegas and on shine time on my rankings. They are still
05:03the team to beat
05:05for the Super Bowl. So all can be true here. And that's what I think where the Rams do get
05:11the benefit
05:12of the doubt. I did not like to pick at all. Vehemently disagree with it. So much of it is
05:18about the player.
05:19I'm not a Ty Simpson fan. So much of it at the end of the day is about the fact
05:24that this team is all
05:25about winning a championship. And Simpson does not help for this season. Now, there is also a great
05:31opportunity for Ty Simpson. And again, only 15 games in college. That's usually not a recipe for
05:37success. When you draft a quarterback, he doesn't have to play this year. I mean, you heard what
05:41McVay said to start the show. I mean, he's talking about at the end of the day, Stenson Bennett and
05:47Simpson competing for the backup quarterback position. That's wild and accurate rolled into one.
05:56So I didn't like it. I didn't agree with it. I questioned it. You could have knocked me over
06:01with that feather. I was completely stunned by it. America was. Canada was. I mean, it was absolutely
06:06insane. But I want to acknowledge this is a brilliant organization. I want to acknowledge
06:12in a lot of ways they deserve the benefit of the doubt. And I also don't want to sound hypocritical,
06:17right? Like, I'm not going to flunk them for the pick. I'm not going to do a draft grade and
06:22say
06:22the Rams get an F. It's more of like a shoulder shrug emoji. That's my official draft grade here
06:29for for the Rams for this pick. And by the way, McDuffie's part of the draft. And by the way,
06:34I'm
06:34going to pick the Rams to go to the Super Bowl and win it. But here's the pressure point that
06:40needs
06:40to be stressed. They better because I can sit here and say that this team is going to ultimately win
06:48the Super Bowl. But if you look at the odds, look at where Seattle is. And Seattle was brilliant at
06:5432. They drafted a running back, the other running back, Price from Notre Dame. And that running back
07:01is going to play. Take a look at the teams on this board for a second. Rams, Seahawks, Niners,
07:08same division. There is a real shot that the Rams could end up winning 11 games, have a great season,
07:15and finish in third place in the division. That is unacceptable. And if you see Lemon making
07:22plays and Simpsons on the bench, then it's going to be a problem. So this takes a season
07:30already loaded with expectations and implications to a fevered pitch. Rams obviously know the deal.
07:37Rams certainly understand it. It's the Los Angeles market. It's the California Post. We're going to
07:42chronicle every single move, every single moment. And I still expect them to ultimately find a way
07:47to win the Super Bowl this year. But boy, they better. I mean, this was wow, man. I'm not a
07:54fan
07:54of Simpson. I do think Simpson now is in the best possible position to ultimately help his career.
08:00Had my friend Chris Sims from NBC on my SiriusXM radio show a couple days ago. And he said, look,
08:06he thought Simpson was a day two guy. But if there was McVeigh or someone from the McVeigh tree,
08:12like LaFleur with the Cardinals, it would make sense to ultimately take the flyer on Ty Simpson,
08:18first round, 50-year option. Look, I know that the only reason the Rams had this pick is because
08:23they fleeced the Atlanta Falcons. And I'm sure that they viewed this in a lot of ways as a bit
08:29of a
08:30lottery chip and a lottery card where let's see if it hits. And if it doesn't, yeah, let's, you know,
08:35go still have the best roster in the NFL. Look, it's risk reward, baby. They are rolling the dice.
08:42I did not like it. This organization always gets the benefit of the doubt. But my goodness, I mean,
08:49if you're a Rams fan, you're still in a little bit of a haze right now. Like this is like
08:54unbelievable stuff, especially if you're a USC Rams fan, an LA Rams fan, California dreaming about
09:02Lemon as the pick and the player in the ultimate selection as an Amon Ross St. Brown clone who's
09:08going to help you win the Super Bowl. And Devontae Adams doesn't have a contract passed this year.
09:11Is that getting any younger? Wild. Absolutely wild.
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