5 NFL trades LA Rams make for 2021 1st round pick

S John Johnson to Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles have long sought to repair the team’s defensive secondary. The team lost the services of veteran safety Malcolm Jenkins to free agency and had opted to move former cornerback Jalen Mills to the safety position.  While that could work, it’s a pretty significant gamble for a team trying to defend their NFC East championship.  Particularly in light of the Dallas Cowboys addition of WR CeeDee Lamb to an already formidable group. Do the Eagles believe that will hold up this season?

If they don’t, they know where to find talented defensive backs.  After all, it was the Philadelphia Eagles who signed former LA Rams slot cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman, so their front office is fully aware of the talent on the Rams defense.  Why not shop to round out their defensive backfield? To that end, the Eagles would be very wise to trade for Rams’ safety John Johnson.

Safety dance

The Eagles lost longtime lockerroom leader Malcolm Jenkins this season to free agency, but believe they have addressed the matter with reshuffling their defensive backs. That’s a very optimistic opinion of how quickly Jalen Mills can learn the safety position, which is significantly different in most plays.  Since the Eagles already have Robey-Coleman from the Rams defensive backfield from 2019, it makes sense to add another member from that backfield. And Johnson is a solid one-year rental for the Eagles to try out this year. If they approve, they can re-sign him to a multi-year deal next year. So how would that deal look?

In this exchange, the Eagles pick up a starting safety and trade back from round one to round three.  The LA Rams convert the round-three pick to a round-one selection, plus pull in another round five pick.  With a  bonafide starting safety, the Eagles are able to challenge for the NFC East crown once more.