Sean McVay wasn’t laughing at the New England Patriots’ first-round draft pick, or he says he wasn’t. McVay attempted to clarify a clip in which he could be seen audibly chuckling upon hearing the Patriots took guard Cole Strange in the first round Thursday.
McVay and Rams general manager Les Snead were in the middle of a press conference when the Patriots’ pick was made. Both men were captured on video reacting hilariously to it.
McVay said, “We wasted our time watching him thinking he’d be at 104, maybe.” He then laughed out loud. It appeared as though McVay was taking a shot at Patriots coach Bill Belichick for reaching with the selection.
McVay said Friday that wasn’t the case.
“I wish that it wouldn’t have gotten misunderstood,” McVay said. “It was more of a reflection of, I was actually giving Les some, you know, a hard time because when we started watching him, I think we both were in agreement, there’s no way he’d be there because we like the player so much. If there’s anybody that has more respect for Coach Belichick, what he’s done than I do, I’d like to see him, because I have tremendous respect for this profession, for the players that play at this level, and I would never want it to get misunderstood for Cole Strange or the Patriots organization that anything but respect for the player. That was my reaction and any misunderstanding was my fault for the way that I probably communicated that.”
McVay claimed he was laughing at the fact that he and Snead liked Strange, but knew it would be tough to get him when their first pick came up. The earliest the Rams could’ve made that pick was No. 104 overall, at the end of Round 3.
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral NFL stories via Google! Follow Us
Per SI.com, General manager Les Snead revealed in a recent interview that McVay called Belichick to apologize after.
The Rams eventually did snag their own offensive lineman at 104, taking Wisconsin’s Logan Brass.
