Rams were linked to Ty Simpson for months. Fans didn’t believe it.

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - APRIL 23: Ty Simpson of Alabama poses for a photo after being selected 13th overall by the Los Angeles Chargers during Round One of the 2026 NFL Draft at Acrisure Stadium on April 23, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Lauren Leigh Bacho/Getty Images) | Getty Images The Rams left many fans stunned and speechless when they drafted Ty Simpson with the 13th overall pick in Thursday’s first round, a quarterback routinely graded as a day two prospect who might only barely sneak into the end of day one. But the most surprising thing about the Rams drafting Simpson is that people were in shock despite the fact that L.

A. ‘s interest in him was one of the worst kept secrets of draft season. We’ve known this pick could happen for months, but because Simpson was not as universally respected as Fernando Mendoza and other first round prospects, that meant that covering those reports was dismissed by some fans as “clickbait” of “media-driven narratives” for a “zero-percent chance” scenario.

Whether it was Louis Riddick sharing that the Rams “like Ty Simpson” or that several plugged-in analysts had mocked Simpson to the Rams or Tom Pelissero saying “don’t be shocked” if the pick is Simpson, the most common reaction to those reports looked like this, a comment left here at Turf Show Times: “ Don’t worry Rams fans the Rams would never draft Simpson in the 1st round NEVER! maybe in the 5th round. The Rams scouts have already watched his last 3 college games and he went from a 2nd round prospect to a day 3 prospect, mediocre arm strengths, poor decision making if he would have stayed at Alabama he wouldn’t even have been the starting quarterback there that’s all you need to know about Simpson.

” (I’m not crediting any of the comments to who wrote them only because I’m not trying to blow up anybody’s spot or call anyone out. This isn’t a shame post! It’s only a reflection on draft coverage of Ty Simpson and hopefully we all learned something about draft rumors for next time, including myself.