With their first selection in the 2023 NFL draft, the Los Angeles Rams selected guard Steve Avila out of TCU with the 36th overall pick. Before announcing Avila’s name, The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue mentioned that the Rams discussed possibly trading into the first round for five offensive players on their draft board.
Here is the excerpt on what the Rams were discussing during the draft before taking Avila in the second round:
Similar to 2021, skill-position players tempted some on staff during the draft — the Rams discussed trading up into the first round for five different players, all on offense. A series of first-round maneuvers from other teams excluded the Rams, who ultimately stayed at No. 36. Avila was the Rams’ top prospect when they reset their board after the first round in preparation for Day 2.
It remains to be seen who the Rams were targeting in a potential trade-up scenario to the first round. Considering that they were looking at offensive players, wide receiver and offensive line are the likely positions the Rams were pondering.
Late in the first round, there was a run of four wide receivers taken from picks 20 to 23, with Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Quentin Johnson, Zay Flowers, and Jordan Addison all going in succession. The Rams also could have been targeting guys like Dalton Kincaid and Anton Harrison, who were both available at pick No. 25.
In the end, the Rams decided to prioritize the interior of the offensive line by selecting Avila, who was at the top of the team’s draft board to begin the second round. Even though multiple areas of the defense needed to be addressed during this year’s draft, and we don’t know who the Rams ultimately wanted in the first round, they knew they’d bolster their offense with their first selection the entire time.