Some stories aren’t about first-round hype or overnight stardom.
About waiting your turn and never once letting go of who you are.
With the 232nd pick of the #NFLDraft, the Rams select... Tim Keenan III!📺: 2026 #NFLDraft on NFLN/ESPN/ABC from April 23-25 pic.twitter.com/PfyjvBDSRN
The former Alabama defensive lineman is officially headed to the NFL after being selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the seventh round with the No. 232 overall pick. And if you know anything about Keenan, you know this moment didn’t come easy, it was earned.
Keenan’s journey at Alabama Crimson Tide wasn’t built on headlines.
It was built on consistency, toughness, and loyalty in an era where those things don’t always get the attention they deserve.
A Birmingham native who stayed home to represent the state, Keenan gave five years to the program and left it better than he found it.
In 2025, he stepped into a leadership role as a team captain, and that tells you exactly how that locker room viewed him. Not just as a player, but as someone they trusted. Someone who showed up every single day, even when things weren’t going his way.
He missed the first three games of the season with an ankle injury. A setback that could’ve derailed a lot of players. But not Keenan. He came back, started 12 games, and quietly went to work, finishing with 16 tackles, two sacks, and a forced fumble.
But if you watched Alabama last season, you know his impact can’t be measured by stats alone.
One of the biggest moments of the year came in the College Football Playoff against Oklahoma Sooners football. Alabama was down 17-0, searching for anything, any spark.
Over the course of his career, Keenan racked up 95 tackles, 5.5 sacks, and even got his hands on a few passes at the line of scrimmage. He started 24 games over his final two seasons and did something Alabama fans will always appreciate, he never lost to Auburn Tigers football.
But more than anything, his story is about how he got here.
In a world where players transfer at the first sign of adversity, Keenan stayed. He fought through injuries. He waited his turn. He trusted the process. And now, he’s walking into the NFL with something you can’t teach, earned confidence.
“I always believe no matter where you’re at, you’ve got to make the best with what you got,” Keenan said during the Senior Bowl process. “You can’t always control the cards you’re dealt… you’ve just got to play them.”
And don’t let the seventh-round label fool you. Teams like the Rams don’t just draft bodies, they draft culture guys. They draft players who are willing to do the dirty work, who show up early, stay late, and never complain.
And if you’ve watched Alabama football, you already know, this isn’t the end of his story.