LA Rams day 2 NFL Free Agency recap – a new hope

The LA Rams have been slow from the opening bell of the 2020 NFL Free Agency market. But the true test is who the team has on the 53-man roster. Day 2 showed a ray of hope

No, the LA Rams have not fallen asleep at the wheel from the onset of the 2020 NFL Free Agency period. And no, the LA Rams are not “broke” in the sense of having no available NFL available salary cap space to spend.  But the Rams do have constraints this off-season, both in limited available dollars and in draft picks. And so, as expected, the Rams organization and the fans must exercise patience.

Patience can be a very difficult team, particularly when the LA Rams experienced the first day of the 2020 NFL Free Agency period in idle, while 31 other NFL teams rushed out to scramble, negotiate, and commit to the latest round of NFL free agents.

Yes, patience is absolutely rewarded in NFL Free Agency.  Keep in mind that the biggest player contracts go first. Then the second wave of veterans who are choosy about where they go and who they play for passes. Eventually, the salary cap money evaporates, and solid veterans are left, with just a handful of teams focusing upon the upcoming NFL Draft remain with roster spots and salary dollars.  The LA Rams want to be one of those last remaining teams.

In doing so, the team will not be pressured to “pay premium prices” for talented players.  In fact, players at that point in time will be willing to sign for a discount

Picture for 2021 NFL Draft growing brighter

Of course, there are other objectives to the Rams offseason which are running ahead of schedule right now. One of which is to position the team towards the NFL awarding of up to four NFL compensatory picks for the 2021 NFL Draft.  In just two days, the LA Rams are already 50 percent of the way there.

The LA Rams lost veteran defensive end Michael Brockers to the Baltimore Ravens on Monday, March 16, 2020.  The reported terms of that deal were three-years and $30 million. Per the compensatory pick formula, that will likely result in the Rams being awarded a fourth-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.

The Rams then lost inside linebacker Cory Littleton to the Las Vegas Raiders on Tuesday, March 17, 2020. The reported terms of that deal were a similar three-years and $36 million.  That should result in the Rams being awarded a third-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.

In just the first two days of the 2020 NFL Free Agency period, the LA Rams have significantly improved their 2021 NFL Draft position. Keep in mind that the team has traded away their first and fourth-round picks in the trade for cornerback Jalen Ramsey, plus traded away their fifth-round pick in the deal which brought offensive lineman Austin Corbett to the team.  That leaves the team just four picks: a second-round, third-round, sixth-round, and seventh-round picks.

The Rams will likely emerge from the 2020 NFL Free Agency market with 1-2nd, 3-3rds, 1-4th, 1-5th, 1-6th, and 1-7th round picks. That would give the Rams four day-two and four day-three picks in a draft where the team will need to restock team depth dramatically.  But what of the 2020 roster?

The future is now

Despite the lack of activity for the Rams, the now two-day-old 2020 NFL Free Agency is not a disaster by any means. Actually, the restraint shown by the team’s front office is somewhat, encouraging.

This is not a drive-up window service right now. The LA Rams entered this free agency market knowing full well that the team had limits as to what it could do, and despite the sense of urgency to do something, it has been rather effective in that pursuit.

Quietly, the Rams are doing the right things so far.  The consensus since the Rams 2019 season ended was that the Rams needed to improve the offensive line.  The simple act of extending tender offers to both exclusive restricted free agents did exactly that.  The Rams retention of tight end Johnny Mundt gives the team excellent options to bolster blocking on a per-play basis by running 12-personnel packages. 12-personnel is simply a way of stating the team will use one running back and two tight ends on that play.

An even bigger improvement is the Rams retaining center, Coleman Shelton. Here is a quality center prospect who was not even on the roster at the start of the 2019 season.  Much like Austin Corbett, he was acquired mid-season due to multiple injuries that ended seasons of offensive linemen. Now, he is a strong candidate to earn the starting role for the Rams in 2020.

No, these do not headline sports stories. But these are significantly important moves to improving the play of the Rams offense in 2020.  Neither move cost many dollars.  An avalanche starts with just one snowflake.  Yesterday, the LA Rams caught two which will have big impacts this season.