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In the reality bowl the Rams won big. The Jags win the potential bowl. I remember all those potential years before McVay came along. I like the reality bowl much better.
Jaguars have gotten almost nothing out of blockbuster Jalen Ramsey trade with Rams
Tue, February 8, 2022
Jalen Ramsey knows what the Los Angeles Rams gave up to get him in a 2019 midseason trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars — two first-round draft picks and a fourth — but he hasn't kept up with what happened with those picks.![]()
Jaguars have gotten almost nothing out of blockbuster Jalen Ramsey trade with Rams
With hindsight, the Rams pulled off an absolute heist for Jalen Ramsey.sports.yahoo.com
"Nah, I leave that up to Twitter and social media to do that," Ramsey said this week. "I don't like to compare myself to other people anyway."
Here's the short version: The Rams pulled off one of the most one-sided trades in NFL history, at least based on what the Jaguars have gotten out of those three picks to date.
You know what the Rams got out of the deal. Ramsey has been a first-team All-Pro in both of his full Rams seasons, and Los Angeles is in Super Bowl LVI. It's not too crazy to start wondering if Ramsey will be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame some day.
"I believe I'm the best corner — excuse me, I believe I'm the best defensive back in the NFL," Ramsey said.
The Jacksonville side of the trade? It's not pretty.
Rams clearly won Jalen Ramsey trade
At the time it appeared the Jaguars got a lot for Ramsey. He wasn't happy with the Jaguars. He was about to get a massive contract extension. Getting two firsts and a fourth for a disgruntled cornerback wasn't too bad.
But the Rams' approach is to value proven players over draft picks. The Ramsey trade shows why that can be smart.
The first selection the Jaguars used from the Rams was 20th overall in 2020. They took LSU edge rusher K'Lavon Chaisson, who has started 11 of his 31 career games and has only two sacks in two seasons. He has not had an interception, forced fumble or a recovered fumble. The Jaguars have gotten almost no impact out of him.
In 2021, the Jaguars took Clemson running back Travis Etienne with the 25th overall pick. Etienne hurt his foot in a preseason game and then had surgery for a Lisfranc injury. He missed the entire season. Etienne could end up being a great back for the Jaguars, but he has lost a year and there's no guarantee he'll recover all of his explosiveness.
The Jaguars used the 2021 fourth-round pick from the Rams to move up nine spots in a trade with (wait for it) the Rams and take UAB edge rusher Jordan Smith. Smith was inactive until the final two games of the season, as the Jaguars said he wasn't physically ready. He played 21 defensive snaps, 11 special teams snaps and had two tackles.
It's early. Maybe Chaisson emerges in his third season. Etienne could still live up to all the promise he had coming out of Clemson if he is healthy. Smith, and anyone else with the 2021 Jaguars, might have been held back by in-over-his-head coach Urban Meyer. But two-plus years after the trade, the Jaguars have gotten almost nothing out of trading one of the best players in the NFL.
Two sacks from two edge rushers and one year lost to an injury for a running back. That's it.
"Whoever those exact guys are in those positions where they got the picks from the Rams, I have nothing against them, I hope they succeed in their careers," Ramsey said. "I hope they do wonderful things and it works out for them, as well."
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The Rams' trade for cornerback Jalen Ramsey was a remarkable win for Los Angeles. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Rams' big deal pays off
NFL teams hold onto draft picks like they're gold. It's why you see relatively few player trades. Even the Rams struggled with sending away so many picks.
"You're always going to ask yourself the question of, is it best to utilize draft picks to either move up and get who you actually, you obviously would assume would be a player with high potential or a higher projection, but again it's still a projection," Rams general manager Les Snead said when the trade was made.
Let's assume there's no regret from the Rams more than two years later.
Ramsey was asked about the trade and casually dropped the date: Oct. 15.
"It was a good day," Ramsey said. "I was happy and grateful, not only grateful for the Rams trading for me but I was grateful for my time and experiences I had in Jacksonville as well. It helped build me and mold me into the player I am today. I'm grateful for all of the journey."
Ramsey said he never put any extra pressure on himself due to all the picks the Rams gave up, though he said, "It showed me they valued me tremendously." He did want to show the Rams made the right call.
"I always tried to prove myself right and prove others right throughout my career," Ramsey said.
Maybe the trade will look better from the Jaguars' side in a few years. As Ramsey prepares to play in Super Bowl LVI, it looks like one of the biggest steals in NFL history for the Rams.
The build through the draft narrative was overplayed. That’s great for bad teams that have early picks. It was also a lot of NFL hype to sell the draft as an event to the public.Just goes to show that draft picks aren't a magic express pass to sky rocket a team to success. Lots of ppl say this already, but really you need competency at ownership, GM, HC, and QB. Everything else should fall into place after that.
Draft picks are fun for message board discussion but reality is that the majority of them don't pan out and when you have idiocy elsewhere, you become stuck in a vortex of suckitude until a higher level like GM or owner makes a change. Washington should be a perennial contender with the number of top 10 picks they have had over the years and their best record to show for it is 9-7 like 5 years ago and a playoff appearance. No playoff wins I think.
STEALING *for Work and Life purposesvortex of suckitude
Rams would have made better use of the picks but they got the best cornerback in the league. That's a no brainer.All the picks are spent so I think it's pretty obvious to Rams fans we did well if not won outright this trade:
Rams received:
Jalen Ramsey
Jaguars received:
K’lavon Chaisson, Travis Etienne
Traded away 4th round pick and 2 other picks(not acquired from Rams) for: Jordan Smith, Luke Farrell
Side note for the Jags if they didn't dump Ramsey there's a pretty good chance they don't end up picking Lawrence which basically means by losing games they won the deal as well since they now have a guy who could go down as the best QB in their franchise history. I think it's safe to say each side won the trade one of those rare deals that worked out for all parties. Ramsey is obviously happy here he got paid and he went to a franchise that's winning games plus he seems to thrive in our locker room and culture. What are your thoughts?
I should add that imo you have to be careful about assuming that a particular trade based or draft based strategy is the right answer. Kevin Demoff points this out in his recent interview on the Rams site. A lot of elements have to come together for a free agent driven strategy to work.Rams would have made better use of the picks but they got the best cornerback in the league. That's a no brainer.
The build through the draft narrative was overplayed. That’s great for bad teams that have early picks. It was also a lot of NFL hype to sell the draft as an event to the public.
But will teams now start being more reluctant to move good players? Will they all adapt the analytics based selections like Snead and a few others do? Competition only gets tougher.
And didn’t he also play a big role recruiting OBJ? Ramsey isn’t simply on the Rams, he’s invested in being a Ram, and has embraced his leadership role.Ramsey coaching up and teaching the younger guys, who saw that coming?
The Jaguars used the 2021 fourth-round pick from the Rams to move up nine spots in a trade with (wait for it) the Rams and take UAB edge rusher Jordan Smith.
It would be really funny if Rochell ends up being a good starter for us opposite Ramsey.
Who is very likely to end up replacing Darious Williams in that starting outside corner post with Jalen Ramsey along with David Long as our Nickle-back in 2022. The Rams do not have any other corners signed under contract other than these 3 mentioned above.