Les Snead said on Tuesday that the Los Angeles Rams are open to all options in the first round, whether it’s trading up for a player, staying put at No. 19 or trading back to accumulate picks. They won’t know for sure what’s best for them until the first round actually gets underway on Thursday night, but there’s plenty of buzz about them moving up.
Dan Graziano of ESPN shared in his pre-draft notebook that the Rams are among the teams that have made calls about trading up in Round 1. And if the Rams were to move up, “it would be to get one of their top targets on defense.”
The people I talk to think we’re likely to see more trades in the second half of the first round than in the first half. The Colts (No. 15), Jaguars (No. 17), Rams (No. 19) and Eagles (No. 22) are all teams I’ve heard have been making calls about potentially moving up.
It’s not surprising that the Rams are exploring their options when it comes to moving up. They’re an aggressive organization that’s never afraid to make a splash, whether it’s in free agency, the draft or the trade market. It’s also not shocking that they’d be targeting a defensive player, given their needs on that side of the ball.
While it would make sense for them to trade up for one of the top offensive tackles or a wide receiver like Rome Odunze, there are also highly regarded defenders in this class such as Byron Murphy II, Dallas Turner, Laiatu Latu, Jared Verse and Quinyon Mitchell who may not make it to No. 19.
If one of those players begins to slip, the Rams could make a move into the early teens to scoop them up.