What if Ty Simpson had fallen to the Cleveland Browns at pick 24? Andrew Berry clarifies the team's stance on the Alabama Crimson Tide QB who wound up with the Los Angeles Rams.
For months leading up to the NFL Draft, there were rumors linking the Cleveland Browns to Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson. Adding fuel to that fire was the fact that new head coach, Todd Monken, had a pre-existing relationship with Simpson from his days in the college ranks where he recruited the Tennessee native and formed a bond with his father who is a college coach as well.
When push came to shove, though, the Browns had other plans on draft night, trading back from pick No. 6 overall to pick No. 9 overall and selecting Utah tackle Spencer Fano.
Four picks later, Simpson was selected by the Los Angeles Rams, which was accompanied by a very awkward press conference between Rams head coach Sean McVay and GM Les Snead.
Meanwhile, back in Cleveland, quarterback remains a mystery, but as Jori Epstein of Yahoo Sports revealed in her post-draft story with details from inside the Browns war room, general manager Andrew Berry wasn't ignoring the position.
As Epstein explained it, it was more about "understanding the value of the draft relative to their evaluations and expectations of the board." She also noted that team owner Jimmy Haslam exclaimed to the entire room when the Rams selected Simpson that Berry knew that they'd take the Crimson Tide signal caller before the draft even began.
With Simpson off the board, the Browns' focus shifted to addressing other areas of the offense, something Berry said himself in Epstein's piece.
That nugget left people speculating that had Simpson fallen, he would have been the pick for Cleveland when it made its second first-round pick at 24 overall.
During an interview with ESPN Cleveland on Tuesday, however, Berry clarified the comments.
"We didn't anticipate Ty would be available to us at 24," he stated. "Certainly, if the board falls a certain way he comes into consideration, but by no means was that meant to be a suggestion that he would be the focal point of that pick."
Berry's read of the situation, as Haslam apparently pointed out, was accurate and after Simpson went to the Rams 13th overall, the Browns wound up taking Texas A&M wide receiver KC Concepcion instead. Berry went on to rave about about the versatile wideout during the rest of his interview with ESPN Cleveland.
The world may never know what would have happened if Simpson had slipped all the way to pick 24 for Cleveland. Regardless, Berry and company are plenty satisfied with the player they did get.
The addition of Concepcion should go a long way in supporting whoever starts under center in 2026 between Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders, Dillon Gabriel or possibly even sixth-round pick Taylen Green.
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