The NFL world was waiting for a final decision on Texas Tech quarterback Brendon Sorsby and whether or not he would be eligible to return to college in 2026 or enter the 2026 supplemental draft. The word came down on Monday morning, and Sorsby is returning to college and not joining the NFL ranks just yet.
The supplemental draft is an additional draft that happens over the summer for special cases in which a player didn’t enter the normal draft, but became ineligible for college later. That’s what
almost happened to Sorsby, a potential first round pick in 2027, after several no-gambling rule infractions. However, it’s proving to be very difficult to stop football players from going back to college for more if that’s what they want to do.
What’s the Rams history of supplemental picks?
It’s short. The only true supplemental pick in the history of the franchise is tackle Isaiah Battle, a fifth-round pick in 2015.
Battle cited “personal reasons” for changing his mind over the summer about going into the NFL draft, but that may have been a mistake. Because Battle failed to make the roster and then bounced around the league, never appearing in an NFL game.
Perhaps the NFL was just never meant for Battle anyway, but with how college football is currently setup to pay players and allow them to transfer as much as they want, he likely could have made millions over a long NCAA career. He would not have walked away from his football career with nothing.
1984 USFL draft
The only other time the Rams were involved in a type of supplemental draft was 1984, but every team was involved that year. It’s not a normal supplemental draft, because the supplemental draft is voluntary and rare to participate in. The NFL held a draft for college players who had signed with the USFL, for when the USFL would eventually fold.
The Rams selected defensive end William Fuller in the first-round, then quarterback Rick Johnson in the second-round, and defensive tackle John Byrne in the third-round.
Fuller has over 100 career sacks in the NFL, but none with the Rams.
Instead, the Rams traded his rights, two first-round picks, and more to the Houston Oilers for rookie quarterback Jim Everett in 1986.
So although the Rams never drafted a star in the supplemental draft who would play for the Rams, they did get a trade chip that helped the team trade for Jim Everett.
