LA Rams mortgaged offensive line future to fix 2019 pass defense

What if? The alternate reality

But had the Rams held back on that trade? The team may have ended the season at 7-9 or thereabouts. The Baltimore Ravens would never have acquired CB Marcus Peters, and would not have had the luxury of drafting for linebackers in the 2020 NFL Draft. The Miami Dolphins would have not acquired the Rams fifth-round pick to take on the burdensome salary cap of injured CB Aqib Talib. And finally, the LA Rams would have had their first and fifth-round picks in the 2020 NFL Draft.

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The Rams committed four NFL Draft picks to reworking the team’s defensive backfield, While we understand that rewriting history leads to the conclusion we have already formed, those are four draft picks which had other alternatives. Would the Rams have used the first-round pick to select a defensive back?  Likely yes. After all, the LA Rams have shown little regard to attracting and signing highly compensated offensive linemen to the roster.

The team reacted to an opportunity. Wise or foolish is not our intention to discuss here. Our point is simply that the opportunity-cost of embracing the trade for Jacksonville Jaguars star CB Jalen Ramsey is not costing the Rams defense. Rather, it is a cost born by the team’s offensive line.

The price paid by the Rams in negotiating with the Jacksonville jaguars still appears to be a steep price, nearly a year later. Ramsey and the Jaguars were at a melting point. While there is no doubt that Ramsey is worth the 2020 first-round pick, the additional first and fourth-round picks in 2021 feel excessive. That compensation package feels like a Rams team desperate to improve their 2019 trajectory, and in doing so went too far. That created a series of events in 2019 which you all know all too well.