If things go well this year, the Rams’ first round pick in the 2024 draft will be…

[badnews]

If you look at every Rams first round pick since 2000 it's pretty clear that trading them for a known quantity is a far better option.

Arguably the only "blue chip" talents we got out 18 first rounders since 2000 are AD, SJax, Gurley and Quinn (these are the only guys that made a pro bowl or all pro team). Then a lot of mediocrity and a lot of busts

True but I trust this regime to do much better with their selections than any other Rams regime of the last 20 years....
...I mean, those Rams teams that drafted so many busts in the first round couldn't get much out the later rounds either...

 

[Memento]

My draft crush is Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia. Let's face it: we're not re-signing Higbee after this year, Hopkins is a bust, and none of us are sure about Long or Davis Allen. Bowers transforms this tight end group.

 

[oldnotdead]

Michael Penix to redshirt at QB for a year and start in 2025. Bennett isn't McVay's choice at QB and they will be lucky to get two years out of Stafford at this point. This gives them a legit option next year if Stafford gets hurt. His history of spinal and shoulder/elbow injuries is concerning.

Penix is a pocket passer with good height and is a very accurate deep ball passer. He's also quick enough to scramble for a 1st down if he needs to. He plays in a offense that requires him to make full field reads. Williams and Mayes are both half field readers. This is why I've been saying all along he's a perfect fit for McVay's offense. They can trade up to get him because they will be drafting at #32. Give him a year behind Stafford and the Rams will have a legit #1QB with tier 1 talent.

 

[muggmeister]

If you look at every Rams first round pick since 2000 it's pretty clear that trading them for a known quantity is a far better option.

Arguably the only "blue chip" talents we got out 18 first rounders since 2000 are AD, SJax, Gurley and Quinn (these are the only guys that made a pro bowl or all pro team). Then a lot of mediocrity and a lot of busts

I'm referring us to using free agency to sign high paid players and use our draft picks, that's all. NOT to continue to trade the damn picks as soon as we acquire them.

 

[PhillyRam]

....will be traded for a 2nd and five 6th rd picks

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

The Rams will draft too late to take a stud at edge. They will be left looking at OLT, WR or Corner

McVay loves skill position players. They will trade up a few spots for Emeka Egbuka.

 

[FrantikRam]

I'm referring us to using free agency to sign high paid players and use our draft picks, that's all. NOT to continue to trade the damn picks as soon as we acquire them.

I know but I'm just pointing out that first round picks bust ALL the damn time. So I personally vastly prefer trading the pick for a proven commodity.

 

[FrantikRam]

True but I trust this regime to do much better with their selections than any other Rams regime of the last 20 years....
...I mean, those Rams teams that drafted so many busts in the first round couldn't get much out the later rounds either...

I trust them more too but that doesn't really matter. Greg Robinson was mocked to us by several in the media. We won't know what other teams thought but it's a safe bet that everyone saw him as a top half of the first round pick.

Bradford was a "good" pick, Ogletree and Brockers were "good" picks.

Chris Long was too.

None ever made a pro bowl or all pro team.

It's not that so many will bust - although that is the reality with almost half of players drafted in the first round - it's that of the ones that don't bust, it's still rare to become an elite player.

So if the opportunity comes after this season to trade for a proven stud, sign me up

 

[El Chapo Jr]

McVay likes WRs and if Stafford shows he still has it but we falter because of our defense, I could see Marvin Harrison Jr being of great interest.

 

[dang]

McVay likes WRs and if Stafford shows he still has it but we falter because of our defense, I could see Marvin Harrison Jr being of great interest.

Likely a top 3-5 draft pick.

 

[El Chapo Jr]

Likely a top 3-5 draft pick.

Agree, but I'm not one of the people on here expecting a great year in part to our young and very inexperienced defense. I find it plausible for us to finish in the bottom 5 just based on that.

 

[AvengerRam]

Agree, but I'm not one of the people on here expecting a great year in part to our young and very inexperienced defense. I find it plausible for us to finish in the bottom 5 just based on that.

There’s a lot of real estate between “a great year” and “bottom 5.”

 

[El Chapo Jr]

There’s a lot of real estate between “a great year” and “bottom 5.”

Agree, but I'll leave it at my expectations aren't high but I'll root my ass off that we do better than what I'm expecting.

 

[fanotodd]

I know but I'm just pointing out that first round picks bust ALL the damn time. So I personally vastly prefer trading the pick for a proven commodity.

When you have one of the better rosters, it seems like a no brainer to me to go out and “acquire” a proven top end talent like Stafford, Ramsey, or even cooks. Even when the Rams ran out of 1rst rounders, they brought in proven vets like miller, obj, and weddle. Though they might not have been at the top of their game at the time, but they were established as players who were difference makers at some point in their careers. IOW, they might be able to bring their “A” game for a short stretch—which they certainly did.

If I’m a GM and I don’t see as much talent on the roster, I go the route the Rams took this year—draft a bunch of guys. I want to keep that 1rst rounder, even if it means trading down to the bottom of the round, and try to grab at least one player who my FO has evaluated as the best player at his position. I don’t care what position it is. A lotta rookie contracts can jumpstart a franchise. Should the team start looking like something, there’s $$ for FA.

…then there’s the 9ers.
A loaded roster with a QB who wins a lotta games, including some big ones, but just can’t get the team over the top. His knack for making a few throws to the other team every game catches up with him as the competition gets better. What do you do? They have now chosen to pay MULTIPLE players in order to keep a stacked roster and go cheap at QB!

The Rams had Ramsey and Stafford (three or four 1rst rounders?) ON THE FIELD during that title game. The 9ers had three 1rst rounders ON THE BENCH during that game in the form of a young, unproven, and incapable QB.

The Rams not only beat the 9ers on the field that day, they beat them in the Front Office.

 

[FrantikRam]

When you have one of the better rosters, it seems like a no brainer to me to go out and “acquire” a proven top end talent like Stafford, Ramsey, or even cooks. Even when the Rams ran out of 1rst rounders, they brought in proven vets like miller, obj, and weddle. Though they might not have been at the top of their game at the time, but they were established as players who were difference makers at some point in their careers. IOW, they might be able to bring their “A” game for a short stretch—which they certainly did.

If I’m a GM and I don’t see as much talent on the roster, I go the route the Rams took this year—draft a bunch of guys. I want to keep that 1rst rounder, even if it means trading down to the bottom of the round, and try to grab at least one player who my FO has evaluated as the best player at his position. I don’t care what position it is. A lotta rookie contracts can jumpstart a franchise. Should the team start looking like something, there’s $$ for FA.

…then there’s the 9ers.
A loaded roster with a QB who wins a lotta games, including some big ones, but just can’t get the team over the top. His knack for making a few throws to the other team every game catches up with him as the competition gets better. What do you do? They have now chosen to pay MULTIPLE players in order to keep a stacked roster and go cheap at QB!

The Rams had Ramsey and Stafford (three or four 1rst rounders?) ON THE FIELD during that title game. The 9ers had three 1rst rounders ON THE BENCH during that game in the form of a young, unproven, and incapable QB.

The Rams not only beat the 9ers on the field that day, they beat them in the Front Office.

For this year, let's say we could trade our first next year for Brian Burns (and whatever else in future years the Panthers need) and then our second next year for a decent CB that was (theoretically) on the market.

If we made those two moves, I think we're a Super Bowl contender this season because I think our offense will be top ten.

And we would have the players we traded for signed to long term deals (or would sign them), and would be able to retain our team for all of next year (and possibly even have additional cap space after the changes from this off season) - to me that is just a no brainer.

 

[KA210927]

If things goes well we won’t have a first rounder because we trade it for ammo to win the Super Bowl this year.

 

[dang]

Right now the Rams need the following to be a legitimate playoff team:
LT - we need a stud. AJax is not likely the ticket.
OC -can Shelton fill it this year?
Edge1 - either Draft pick next year or trade deadline pickup.
WR1B - likely need in Draft next year. Jefferson is a solid WR3.
DE - we could find someone on the roster this year. FA next year if not.
CB1 - Durant in slot. Kendrick or Witherspoon could be CB2. Need a stud CB1

 

[Merlin]

Michael Penix to redshirt at QB for a year and start in 2025. Bennett isn't McVay's choice at QB and they will be lucky to get two years out of Stafford at this point. This gives them a legit option next year if Stafford gets hurt. His history of spinal and shoulder/elbow injuries is concerning.

Penix is a pocket passer with good height and is a very accurate deep ball passer. He's also quick enough to scramble for a 1st down if he needs to. He plays in a offense that requires him to make full field reads. Williams and Mayes are both half field readers. This is why I've been saying all along he's a perfect fit for McVay's offense. They can trade up to get him because they will be drafting at #32. Give him a year behind Stafford and the Rams will have a legit #1QB with tier 1 talent.

That surname.

 

[WestCoastRam]

Michael Penix to redshirt at QB for a year and start in 2025. Bennett isn't McVay's choice at QB and they will be lucky to get two years out of Stafford at this point. This gives them a legit option next year if Stafford gets hurt. His history of spinal and shoulder/elbow injuries is concerning.

Penix is a pocket passer with good height and is a very accurate deep ball passer. He's also quick enough to scramble for a 1st down if he needs to. He plays in a offense that requires him to make full field reads. Williams and Mayes are both half field readers. This is why I've been saying all along he's a perfect fit for McVay's offense. They can trade up to get him because they will be drafting at #32. Give him a year behind Stafford and the Rams will have a legit #1QB with tier 1 talent.

What makes you say that Williams and Maye are half field readers?

 

[oldnotdead]

What makes you say that Williams and Maye are half field readers?

Look at the offense they play in. USC's offense is pretty simplistic and basic. The problem with those QBs is that they take longer to develop in the NFL, and the Ram passing offense requires both Stafford and the WRs to read the DBs the same way. That was the biggest problem with Atwell. He had to learn to read the DBs and base his break off of how he was played. Now extrapolate that for a QB who needs to do it with all the WRs and their routes.

Mayfield's TD pass to Jefferson in the Raider game illustrated what I'm talking about really well. Mayfield read the entire field but knew where Jefferson was going and that he would be open simply by how the CB and the deep safety played the route. The CB shaded to the inside so Van broke out, both saw the safety shading to the middle. So Van simply broke down the sideline to the endzone expecting Mayfield to lead him deep. We see that with Stafford and Kupp all the time as both read the DBs the same way and it's why Kupp gets the targets.

We saw another example of that on a pass to Atwell (I don't recall which game), where on a deep route Tutu broke inside which was into the coverage and Stafford expected him to break out. The play was saved because the DBs were called for PI. This is why Robinson was at a disadvantage because he and Stafford had not worked together and Matt didn't really know how Robinson was going to run his route. McVay's passing offense isn't easy, and it's why it takes a lot longer than some other schemes for both the QB and WRs to get on the same page.

IMO Nacua is going to steal targets from Higbee. Nacua plays like a TE, and a Y and Z receiver run a similar route tree with similar route options. This is a reason the Rams wouldn't be overly impacted if Higbee is out.