The Los Angeles Rams selected four defensive backs throughout the 2022 NFL draft, but that wasn’t the only way they addressed their need at cornerback. Shortly after taking Decobie Durant with the 142nd overall pick out of South Carolina State, the Rams were able to conduct a trade with the Cleveland Browns for Troy Hill.
Hours after the trade was made, Les Snead shared that he was speaking with Andrew Berry (the GM of the Browns) earlier in the draft to try to get Hill back in Los Angeles.
“(Browns general manager) Andrew (Berry) and I were talking about it and we were discussing ways to get it done, and at the end of the day, (it was) going to the comps,” Snead said. “Because we probably have seven picks next year and expect to get four comps. Now, we can’t trade comps yet, that’s just an expectation, it will probably happen. But it does allow you to go, ‘OK, we’ve got 11 picks,’ and the Browns, they had a lot of picks on the second day, so we said, ‘You know what, it’s probably best that we do something – better for both of us – that we do something in the future.”
The Rams obviously didn’t feel comfortable with their current secondary, as evidenced by them using half of their draft selections on defensive backs. Bringing in someone familiar with their defensive system like Hill became a preferred route for Los Angeles when Cleveland added more depth at cornerback in the draft.
Hill spent five seasons with the Rams from 2016 to 2020, with his best year coming in 2020 when he recorded three interceptions and 10 pass breakups. The veteran cornerback signed with the Browns in 2021, but with Denzel Ward, Greg Newsome, and Greedy Williams in Cleveland, Hill’s role declined during the season.
Upon reuniting with the Rams, Hill figures to become an immediate starter again that will move around from the outside to the nickel position. If you were someone concerned with the depth of the Rams’ secondary entering the draft, your concerns should have diminished by the end of the draft.