Los Angeles Rams drafting well despite not having first round picks

The Los Angeles Rams haven’t had a first-round pick since 2016 and won’t have another until 2024. They’ve been able to build solid teams despite that. 

When the Los Angeles Rams traded a king’s ransom to move up in the 2016 NFL Draft and take Jared Goff with the No. 1 overall pick, little did their fans know that’d be the last time they had a first-round draft pick. Normally not having first-round picks would really hurt organizations, but the Rams have managed to build good teams and get the most out of their players.

The very first year they were without a first-rounder, they landed Gerald Everett in the second round and Cooper Kupp in the third while also selecting Josh Reynolds and Samson Ebukam in the fourth round. All four of those players have seen significant playing time for LA and none of them were first-round picks.

In 2018, the Rams didn’t have a pick until the third round where they Joseph Noteboom, who has proven to be a nice depth piece for them along the offensive line. LA also found Sebastian Joseph in the sixth round in 2018 and he’s started all but one regular-season game the past two years. That’s quality depth right there, especially for a sixth-round draft choice.

This past year, they drafted both Cam Akers and Van Jefferson in the second round and they look to be promising players for the offense.

The Los Angeles Rams haven’t let not having first-round picks stop them from building a good team.

While the Rams would obviously love to have first-round picks, they’ve proven they don’t need them. They continue to trade their first-rounders for key players but then also go on to make it count in the draft. Some teams build up draft picks and do nothing with them, but the Rams do the opposite in that they trade their picks and make the ones they do have count.

This is why we continue to see the Rams make the playoffs and be one of the best teams in the league. They’ve gotten good at making their draft picks count and that’ll continue to be important, as they’re now without one until 2024.