It’s been a few years since the club chose a player in the opening round of the NFL draft. The Los Angeles Rams expect to be quiet on Thursday evening.
You have to go back to 2016 to find the last time this franchise used a first-round pick in the NFL Draft. The year was 2016 and the team was the Rams. The club was back in Los Angeles after a 21-year stay in St. Louis. The head coach at the start of the season would be Jeff Fisher. The general manager was and still is Les Snead.
The Tennessee Titans owned the first overall pick that year. But roughly two weeks before the proceedings, the Rams obtained the number-one selection that cost Los Angeles its first-round pick in both 2016 and 2017, a pair of second-round selections in ’16, and third-round choices in both 2016 and 2017. Along with the top pick, Snead also got a fourth- and sixth-round selection from Tennessee.
The choice was University of California signal-caller Jared Goff. He struggled once he cracked the starting lineup, but the team was in the midst of a 4-12 season. Fisher was replaced by John Fassel with three games to go.
However, 2017 ushered in Sean McVay and it was a career-changing experience for Goff. The Rams won the NFC West that year and were in Super Bowl LIII the following season.
Turnovers became an issue for the quarterback and Snead and McVay opted to go in a different direction. The team obtained veteran hurler Matthew Stafford from the Lions. The deal included sending Goff and their first-round picks in 2022 and 2023 to Detroit. The Rams would go on to win Super Bowl LVI.,
If you’re keeping score per se, the Rams’ 2017 pick went to the Titans. Their 2018 first-rounder went to the Patriots in part for wide receiver Brandin Cooks. The Falcons traded back into the first round in 2019 with the Rams, who owned the 31st overall selection that year. Obtaining cornerback Jalen Ramsey from the Jaguars cost Los Angeles their first-round picks in 2020 and ’21.
What about this year’s draft? Only the Texans and Raiders, both with a dozen selections, have more choices than the Rams’ 11 picks. Not only does Snead not have a first-rounder but the team doesn’t have a selection in the fourth round. Los Angeles has the 36th pick (second round) and multiple choices in the third (69 and 77), fifth (167, 171, and 177), sixth (182, 189, and 191), and seventh (223 and 234).
Can the Rams bounce back from a 5-12 season? They will have to use this draft as a springboard. Who knows what that means when it comes to Snead? Could the team bundle some picks and move up? Could a deal include the team’s first-round pick in 2024? Never say never when it comes to this franchise.