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Les Snead has never been one to draft for need, and he certainly didn’t reach to fill a hole in the second round of the draft on Friday night. Instead, he and Sean McVay made a luxury pick at No. 57 overall, selecting Louisville wide receiver Tutu Atwell.
For a team that already has Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp, Van Jefferson and DeSean Jackson, the selection of Atwell comes as a major surprise. But if you’ve seen the Rams draft in the last four years, it shouldn’t be much of a shock.
This was a luxury pick, but at the same time, it was a reach. That may sound like an oxymoron in Draft Land, but it’s true. The Rams drafted Atwell earlier than just about everyone expected, even though he didn’t fill a position of need – certainly not one of their three biggest needs.
What makes this selection somewhat frustrating is that the Rams had plenty of solid options on the board. They could’ve taken a center like Creed Humphrey, Quinn Meinerz or Josh Myers. They could’ve added a linebacker such as Nick Bolton, Pete Werner or Jabril Cox. Heck, even Joseph Ossai was available. Cornerbacks Ifeatu Melifonwu, Elijah Molden and Aaron Robinson were all there, too.
But rather than drafting a player with a good chance to play a meaningful role in 2021 and beyond, they took someone who will almost certainly play limited snaps and have to battle for playing time behind four very talented wide receivers.
McVay will find ways to get Atwell the ball. He was clearly fed up with the Rams’ lack of downfield passing last season and their absence of speed on offense. They didn’t sign Jackson and draft Atwell to be Ferraris who are kept in the garage.
McVay will use Atwell on deep shots, jet sweeps, punt returns, screens and possibly even handoffs out of the backfield. It’s just a question of whether a player who fills those roles was really needed when looking over the current construction of the Rams’ roster.
If Jackson gets hurt, as he often does, Atwell’s role will grow. But it’s hard to find a big role for the rookie on paper right now, especially considering McVay struggled to get Tavon Austin the ball much in 2017, their only year together.
Perhaps Snead and McVay will prove the doubters wrong, but this was a questionable pick.