No one knows what Les Snead and the Los Angeles Rams are going to do in the first round of the draft this year, their first time picking in Round 1 since 2016. They could trade down and out of the first round entirely like they did in 2019, or they could use some of their 11 picks to move up for a player they covet.
NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah could see either scenario playing out. On a conference call Thursday, Jeremiah said he wouldn’t rule out Snead trading back and coming away with “a zillion Day 2 picks in Rounds 2 and 3 and continues to attack it that way.” He could also envision Snead trading up for someone such as Texas defensive tackle Byron Murphy II or one of the top edge rushers.
“They have the ammunition if they want to move up,” Jeremiah said. “I would think with a guy like Byron Murphy, knowing who just left the building, if Byron Murphy started to drift a little bit, I would think that would be an obvious one for them to target to go up, as well as if one of those three edge rushers, if they have a preference on those guys, I wouldn’t sleep on that, as well.”
The top three edge rushers he’s referring to are Dallas Turner, Jared Verse and Laiatu Latu. They’re all locks to be drafted in the first round, potentially all within the first 20 picks. With it expected to be such a heavy offensive draft in Round 1, though, it’s possible one of those three will be on the board at No. 19.
Chop Robinson would be the fourth edge rusher for the Rams to target and according to Jeremiah, he’s much closer to the top three than some people think, potentially even being the second edge rusher off the board.
“In talking to teams around the league over the last week, I think it’s a lot closer with Chop Robinson with those top three guys than maybe some people expect,” he said. “So I have Turner at 12 on my list, Verse was 14, Latu was 16, Robinson was 21. There’s a lot of people out there that think that Chop Robinson could end up being the second edge rusher to go.”
Jeremiah believes there’s “a decent chance” one of those four edge rushers will be available at No. 19 and added that it “would not be a bad way to go” if the Rams take one of them.
Everything is on the table for Los Angeles, from drafting a quarterback at 19 to trading back and selecting a wide receiver. Peter Schrager of NFL Network all but guaranteed the Rams will go offense if they stay put in Round 1, so we’ll see how things play out next Thursday.