In the past couple of years, the Los Angeles Rams have been notorious for utilizing their first-round picks in exchange for talent. It wasn’t until last year, when they drafted Jared Verse that they had a first-round pick to work with, and it worked out great for them.
Verse won DROY, a feat that hadn’t been achieved for the Rams since Aaron Donald was a rookie. That bodes well for the career of their young star, but looking ahead to the upcoming NFL draft, they have the 26th overall pick and an opportunity to establish a streak of retaining their first-round picks.
Les Snead has done a phenomenal job at drafting impactful players for the Rams regardless of which round they’re being drafted at, but they can’t realistically expect him to get it right every single year. I believe they should use this pick on a player that helps them out now, but some analysts believe differently.
Chris Trapasso is an NFL analyst who writes for CBS Sports and recently published a mock draft of his own. In this mock draft, he believes the Rams will trade with the New York Giants to get out of the first round completely in exchange for draft capital.
“…The Giants keep their foot on the pedal at the quarterback spot and ascend for Dart, who of course represents much more of a long-term option. It wouldn’t be crazy if the veteran who loses the quarterback battle in camp is ultimately not on the Giants roster in 2025. The Rams get a third-round pick (No. 65) and a fourth-round pick (No. 105) from the G-Men in this swap”, said Trapasso.
In other mock drafts, the Rams themselves are predicted to draft Dart here, but in this scenario, they bow out of the first round completely. They’ve built a roster through free agency that is ready to compete, and trading back could hinder their chances of doing that.
Then again, Snead has an excellent track record, giving him more opportunities to draft an impactful player is a nice bonus, as they can still walk away from the upcoming draft winners if players fall to them in later rounds.
If the Rams don’t have a prospect available to them they believe can help contribute towards their Super Bowl window, then trading back is a smart move. Otherwise, they should be doing everything in their power to accumulate as much talent as possible.
