Dan Orlovsky Gave Us the Draft’s Top Moment and It Wasn’t Even Supposed to Happen

1. If you listened to this week’s SI Media With Jimmy Traina, you heard me talk about how I’m not a fan of the NFL draft as a television product. No matter which network you watch, it’s all the same. Very little fun, constant propping up of every pick and zero criticism.

So, when I wanted a taste of the draft on Thursday night, I went to The Pat McAfee’s 7th Annual Draft Spectacular Show on YouTube. What the McAfee show gives you is both entertainment (hello, Mad Mel Kiper) and legit analysis, which was handled by Peter Schrager and Bill Cowher. What a novel concept.

McAfee’s show also provided the most memorable moment of all draft coverage thanks to Dan Orlovsky.

If you had been following ESPN’s coverage up to the draft, you know that Orlovsky LOVED Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson. Orlovsky was higher on Simpson than No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza. It became a thing.

Many mock drafters did not even have Simpson going in the first round. Orlovsky all along had been adamant that Simpson is going to be a legit quarterback in the NFL.

What happened Thursday? The Rams took Simpson with the 13th pick. And Orlovsky celebrated on McAfee’s show by saying, “FUDGE YEAH,” and then took a victory lap.

Dan Orlovsky was doing victory laps with Pat McAfee and the boys after the Rams selected Ty Simpson 😤 pic.twitter.com/x37hyrS0XE
— ESPN (@espn) April 24, 2026

I spoke to Orlovsky on Friday morning about the entire saga. Amazingly, it turned out that his appearance with McAfee wasn’t even supposed to happen.

SI: How are you feeling right now?

DO: I feel great. I do. This is not about me or making this about me. But in my job, it is my belief that we in this role should be right. We should strive to be right. I know people disagree with that. That’s not the way that I believe.

I take a tremendous amount of personal pride in doing the work to give myself the best chance to be right. Not that I expect to be right all the time. I know when I came to my conclusion about Simpson that I was gonna be in the minority and I got comfortable with that. I only felt stronger as the weeks went on about my feelings on the whole situation and the player. So, to see it happen, because obviously it became a very public thing—and I was crushed for it, continuously crushed for it, at least publicly—yeah, I knew it was gonna be a deal.

SI: You weren’t on McAfee’s show from the beginning. What happened there?

DO: I was not supposed to be on Pat last night. I had no plans to be on Pat last night. I actually texted with Peter Schrager a day or two before saying, “I’m kinda jealous I’m not with you,” because Peter and I did free agency together and it was such a fun time. And then Pat FaceTimed me late Thursday afternoon or early evening and said, “Where are you, what are you doing for the draft?” I said, “I’m chillin’.” And he said, “Do you wanna come through?” And I said, “Where are you?”

He took his phone and he showed me the crowd. I said I have to see if I could get transportation over there because I was planning on laying in my bed. Pat said he could help with that. As I was going over there, I was wondering why he was bringing me there. And then I thought to myself, “Well, this is either gonna go good or I’m gonna get DESTROYED by Pat.”

I got there and it was getting to the 13th pick and he called me over to the desk. When he started doing that, I thought, he knows something. And it went from there.

SI: So when the Rams made the pick, was that when you first learned Simpson was getting drafted?

DO: Yeah. I was committed to not looking at Twitter and whatnot. That was the first time I knew.

SI: And then you took the victory dance and the crowd loved it.

DO: The crowd was great. They were chanting, “Dan-O! Dan-O!” Everybody knew. It was fun. It was cool.

SI: You celebrated by saying, “FUDGE, YEAH!” When was the last time you said f---?

DO: Oh, man. Jimmy, I’m gonna be honest with you here, although I’m not proud to say this. I think I said it probably in the last three weeks or so during one of my kid’s games.

SI: I think it would’ve been better if you said it at the draft than your kid’s game.

DO: If I was just with Pat and the boys, I may have. I’m aware I’m on camera. I don’t know if my sons are gonna see that clip. So, I’m always conscious of that.

2. And here’s the proof that traditional NFL draft coverage is devoid of any criticism. ABC’s Nick Saban was caught on a hot mic coming back from a commercial saying, “Wow, this is a reach” before the Cowboys selected UCF defensive end Malachi Lawrence with the 23rd pick.

"This is a reach" 😬 pic.twitter.com/60zloMY8nq
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 24, 2026

Why not say this on the actual telecast?

3. My favorite moment of the NFL draft Thursday night was Kirk Herbstreit flat-out refusing to eat whatever sandwich was put in front of him. I love the defiance and disgust.

Kirk Herbstreit had absolutely no interest in the Primanti Bros. spread on ABC's draft telecast pic.twitter.com/w9VNCD57sp
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 24, 2026

4. College professors could literally teach a PR class on the Dianna Russini-Mike Vrabel scandal. The focus of the class would be how these two handled everything in the most counterproductive way possible. When you’re guilty, apologize as soon as possible and then lay low and make the story go away.

I can’t stop thinking about The Athletic’s initial statement standing by Russini (while saying they are investigating Russini) and Russini’s completely absurd resignation letter. Now, look where we are two weeks later.

NY Post goes with Vrabel/Russini the day after the Jets & Giants have a combined 3 Top 10 picks in the NFL Draft. pic.twitter.com/KvgMmIJupl
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) April 24, 2026

Meanwhile, Vrabel is off to counseling after giving ridiculous press conferences and Russini FINALLY deleted her formerly-known-as-Twitter account Thursday night, which is like buying a smoke detector after your house has already burned down.

5. Braves starting pitcher JR Ritchie had one hell of a MLB debut on Thursday.

Right after cameras showed his family in the stand to watch him pitch against the Nationals, the very first pitch of his career was belted for a home run.

The first pitch of JR Ritchie’s MLB career, James Wood absolutely crushed it 👀 pic.twitter.com/wzWBZRuRzo
— js9innings (@js9inningsmedia) April 23, 2026

However, the righthander settled down to toss seven innings of two-run ball while striking out seven and earning the win in Atlanta’s 7-2 victory.

6. This week’s SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast features an interview withThe Ringer’s Bryan Curtis about the latest sports media news.

Curtis talks about the latest developments in the Dianna Russini–Mike Vrabel story, Prime Video’s “technical difficulties” vs. NBC’s scorebug mistake during early first-round NBA playoff games, and ESPN’s massive promotion of WWE.

In addition, Curtis weighs in on whether reporters should tip NFL draft picks and the decline of the NFL draft as a major television event.

Following Curtis, Sal Licata from SNY TV and The Sal Licata Show joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week’s topics include World Cup train tickets going from $12.50 to $150, the difficulties of logging into streaming services, WrestleMania 42, the New York Mets’ pathetic play and the NBA playoffs. In addition, I respond to some listener emails.

You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast below or on Apple and Spotify.

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on YouTube.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: If you like vintage "SportsCenter" and vintage NBA, here’s a throwback you will thoroughly enjoy.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on X and Instagram.

Add us as a preferred source on Google