Quote
RockRam
I think the trade down issue, even though a guy they want is right there for them, is dicey. They can lose the guy they need because they think they can trade down 4, 5, 6, spots pick up a late round pick and still get him.
I really don't think Snead will do that at 57 UNLESS the guys that they have circled for that spot are taken. And while we might think that they would take either of the top 2 Centers or Meinerz, that might not be the case. They may be looking deeper in the draft at some of the lesser known guys that they like.
I see it a bit differently.
Rams seem fortunate in that they have no screaming need for ‘21 from this draft, assuming that they are 100% confident that their new starting OC is already on the roster.
OTOH, they want to fill ‘next year’ anticipated needs from this draft and there are quite a few of those.
LOT
C (Possibly)
OG
WR ( probably a ‘this year’ need for a vertical)
RB
WOLB (another ‘this year’ need IMO)
DL
ILB
CB
That’s quite a list for a team with only 6 draft picks currently. Even if Snead hits on 100% of his picks (an impossibly high bar) there’s still a shortage. And Rams cap room for FA fixes for this shortfall are VERY limited.
That means that they can go shopping for BPA at a variety of positions, which is the good news. But it would be much more easy if they had 8 or more picks vs the current 6, right? Especially if 5-6 of those picks are before the end of round 4.
The depth of this draft and the talent plateaus within rounds 2 through 4, not to mention that Rams might be looking for value at perhaps 9 different positions, make this a perfect opportunity for Snead/McVay to take advantage of trade down opportunities. That’s a perfect storm of flexibility and opportunity, if you ask me.
Frankly, I think the only thing that will prevent Snead from executing trade downs will be the difficulty of finding suitable trade partners because many other GM’s see the same opportunities and want to do the same darned thing, particularly in this Covid confused offseason evaluation market.