Like many other teams around the NFL, the Los Angeles Rams strategically pick their spots in free agency so as to maximize the number of compensatory picks they receive for their departures. They often target players who were released by their previous teams or wait until after the draft to sign free agents because neither counts against compensatory picks.
So far this offseason, it’s been all about losses rather than additions for the Rams. They’ve lost Baker Mayfield, Nick Scott, Taylor Rapp, David Long Jr., Greg Gaines, Matt Gay, Brandon Powell, Riley Dixon and David Edwards already, yet the Rams haven’t signed a single outside free agent.
Over The Cap projects the Rams to receive the maximum of four comp picks in 2024 for their free-agent departures, which is exactly what Les Snead expects the Rams to receive.
“Right now is the process of it,” Snead said, via the team’s official site. “And with that, we’re engaged in the draft preparation process, which is a big part, and will be a big part of the next two years. We have 11 draft picks this year, in next year’s draft, we expect to get four comp picks again. Again, they’re gonna be later with all the unrestricted (free agents) that we lost, but we also gain a first-rounder and expect to have 11 picks. So what we’ve said is, over the next two years, we have 22-plus picks to begin the remodel, the retool, our chapter three.”
As nice as it is to get compensatory picks back for free-agent losses, the Rams won’t get any early-rounders next year. The highest they’re projected to receive are two sixth-rounders for Gay and Mayfield. Simply, the value of the contracts signed by Rams free agents hasn’t been high enough to yield third- or fourth-rounders.
With compensatory picks being tradeable, though, the Rams can use these selections to move up in the draft if they’d like to.
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