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What is Les Snead planning on the first night of the NFL Draft?
The NFL Draft is just a week away. The first round on Thursday night usually has no shortage of excitement and surprises in store for fans, and the Los Angeles Rams seem to have a wealth of options at their disposal. We’ve seen general manager Les Snead move up and down the draft board to come away with top talent or accumulate capital for future years, and there’s no telling what he’s planning for 2024.
What are the Rams’ options on Thursday night when round one gets underway?
If Los Angeles stays at #19, there are several prospects they’ve commonly been linked to through mock drafts. A glaring need at outside linebacker makes for an easy fit, but the Rams have a way of keeping things interesting and could surprise by instead selecting an impact offensive player.
There is clearly is top three group of edge rushers in this draft class, but it’s difficult to discern how teams have them ranked and which order they could come off the board. The consensus top player appears to be Alabama’s Dallas Turner, and he could go as early as pick #8 to the Atlanta Falcons. Jared Verse of Florida State and Laiatu Latu of UCLA were more productive players at the college level but their athletic traits may not project as favorably to the professional game. It’s probably unlikely that all three would be taken by the time pick #19 rolls around.
Chop Robinson of Penn State is a popular name for the Rams, but he seems better slotted in the later part of the first round. Would he be a reach if the Rams selected him at #19?
A versatile secondary piece that would be an overall talent upgrade over nearly any current starter in LA.
Amarius Mims and Tyler Guyton are tackle prospects that could both benefit from a year of development before they are asked to start in the NFL. LA is well positioned to have these players sit behind Alaric Jackson and Rob Havenstein as rookies. Is that a wise use of the nineteenth pick, or are these players better targets if the team decides to trade down?
Bo Nix, anyone? It’s unlikely that either Drake Maye or JJ McCarthy would be around at this point, and Nix would be the best quarterback that is likely to be left on the board. The Rams could develop Nix for a year behind Matthew Stafford and Jimmy Garoppolo before deciding on a plan for 2025 and beyond.
Then there are the passing catching options like LSU’s Brian Thomas, Texas’ AD Mitchell and Xavier Worthy, Georgia’s Ladd McConkey, and others. While it...
