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Ram_Ruler
Do you go for a premium edge guy in the draft/free agency or do you re-sign Fowler and look at more "quality" guys in free agency/draft (like a Jalen Jelks in round 4)? Would you rather see Ogbonnia Okoronkwo before drafting new edge rushers? If the Rams doubled down on their roster / free agents (maybe minus Joyner and Barron) do you think we'd still be good enough for another run?
Since you specifically confined the topic to edge, I’ll do the same, Ruler.
I’ll start by declaring that Ebu needs to be upgraded as a starter there. I don’t think that this can be overstated. Sorry. S&M have gotta explore every trade or FA option before the draft because we apparently can’t count on our BPA being an edge player at our pick. If that “Ebu problem” is solved predraft then it removes tremendous pressure from Snead and he would be more free to go with the strength of the draft, an ideal scenario.
Fowler would be a good solution at the other side, if reasonable. His play was steadily improving right up to and including the SB, so yeah, Color me a Fowler fan. But if Fowler is unreasonable, then S&M will be forced to get TWO new edge starters this offseason. Not an ideal scenario. And yet I have to say that there is no other proven edge rusher on our roster that is of playoff caliber.
So, to summarize, edge will be among the very highest of offseason priorities, IMO. Obviously, ILB and S will be up there, as well. The good news is that trade, FA, and draft resources can and probably will be heavily directed at our D. SB performance notwithstanding.
I expect a minimum of 4 new starters on D next season. Maybe six.
One last thing. Dead has projected a semi talent plateau after around pick 24 or so. If Snead sees the same thing then he might be inclined to do a trade down, picking up a 2nd and maybe another 3rd. Such a trade down could be invaluable for acquiring quality depth players that could become future starters. Snead has been a magician in rounds 2-4 since McVay came on board.