The Rams had to wait longer than most teams to make their first pick in the 2020 NFL Draft after trading their first-rounder to the Jaguars for Jalen Ramsey. They didn’t go on the clock until No. 52 overall, which was the first of two picks in a five-spot span.
With their two second-round picks, the Rams landed Cam Akers and Van Jefferson. Considering they didn’t trade out of either spot, it’s clear they really liked both players.
On a video conference with scouts and J.B. Long of the Rams, Les Snead revealed as much. He said the Rams had five players they coveted in the second round who they thought might fall to them at No. 52.
Akers and Jefferson were two of those players, and they were able to land both of them.
“We had five players that we thought might get to 52 that we really wanted,” Snead said. “And you can’t just pick two players (to target) because when you’re picking 52, that would be bad business and bad strategy. There was five in our ‘A’ category, Tier 1 category – whatever you want to call it, guys we would pick first in the backyard if we were playing football.
“We were able to land two that were in those five, so it was a good night.”
The Rams were thrilled to come away with both of those playmakers, at least one of whom should have a big impact as a rookie. Even though the Rams plan to use a committee backfield, Akers should handle the bulk of the carries, which would leave Darrell Henderson as the change-of-pace back and Malcolm Brown as the No. 3 guy.
Jefferson’s path to a starting job isn’t as clear due to the depth the Rams have at wide receiver already, but with Cooper Kupp and Josh Reynolds both becoming free agents in 2021, it’s reasonable to think he’ll at least be the No. 3 receiver in Year 2.