Turf Show Times
With the breaking news that the Los Angeles Rams have traded their 2027 Round 1 pick for defensive end Myles Garrett, a consensus of fans were supportive, but not particularly surprised by the course of action. Certainly, Les Snead moving Day 1 draft picks, often for veteran talent, isn’t news to Rams fans any longer.
This move should also relieve some of the furor about L.A. drafting quarterback Ty Simpson at #13. Fans that were dismayed with the pick, cited the fact that drafting for the future was not in the team’s best interest. Snead should have targeted a player that would help get the Rams over the hump in 2026 and aid in a Super Bowl run.
Now that it appears L.A. has made what should be the final major roster move for 2026, it’s as good time as any to take a look at playoff-bound teams Round 1 draft picks of the recent past, five years 2021 through 2025, and see what they have brought to the table.
I have graded the Day 1 prospects into three categories, hits, toss-ups, and misses. All based on their play and value to the team as rookies, even though some have developed and others fallen off.
10 Round 1 picks made it to the playoff. Of those, three did little to help their team go forward. #2 Travis Hunter, #20 Jahdae Barron, and #30 Maxwell Hairston used their rookie years as an introductory year. There were three toss ups. #21 Derrick Harmon, #22 Omarion Hampton, and #23 Matthew Golden proffered production, but not much more than a journeyman NFL player. That leaves four, #4 Will Campbell, #8 Tet McMillan, #18 Grey Zabel and #31 Jihaad Campbell as intrinsic parts of their respective team’s.
JAX #2 – CB/WR Travis Hunter – 4 starts – 324 offense and 162 defensive snaps
NE #4 – T Will Campbell – 13 starts – 783 snaps
CAR #8 – WR Tet McMillan – 17 starts – 925 snaps
SEA #18 – G Grey Zabel – 17 starts – 1051 snaps
DEN #20 – CB Jahdae Barron – 5 starts – 334 snaps
PIT #21 – DT Derrick Harmon – 8 starts – 446 snaps
LAC #22 – RB Omarion Hampton – 6 starts – 384 snaps
GB #23 – WR Matthew Golden – 5 starts – 452 snaps
BUF #30 – CB Maxwell Hairston – 3 starts – 348 snaps
PHI #31 – ILB Jihaad Campbell – 10 starts – 710 snaps
No #1 pick – HSN, LAR
13 Round 1 picks. Seven prospects, #2 Jayden Daniels, #5 Joe Alt, #12 Bo Nix, #19 Jared Verse, #22 Quinton Mitchell, and to a lesser extent #28 Xavier Worthy and #30 Nate Wiggins all were productive. #24 Terrion Arnold and #26 Graham Barton fit into the toss up category, they both received starts and snaps, but their play was not a huge step up. Four struggled with the transition, were injured, or both, #10...
