LA Rams trading back for more picks appears to be best draft option

The LA Rams have traded away four of their seven perennial draft picks allotted for this year. Without any changes, the LA Rams are looking at an NFL Draft with just three picks. Well, a starting point of three picks, anyways. After that, there are considerations for the awarding of NFL compensatory awards. Per NFL.com news, the LA Rams are looking at two such compensatory picks: a third-round comp pick for Dante Fowler Jr., and a fourth-round pick for Cory Littleton.

A  third such compensatory pick award for the loss of K Greg Zuerlein was offset by the LA Rams signing Detroit Lions NT A’Shawn Robinson.  An additional third-round compensatory pick will be awarded to the LA Rams in 2021 for the hiring of Brad Holmes by the Detroit Lions.

No team receives more than four comp picks in any single year. So the Rams have three of their original draft picks in rounds two, six, and seven. And the Rams have three projected compensatory picks in rounds three, three, and four.  Still, that’s not likely enough. Not for the Rams robust needs this year.

LA Rams draft late in 2021

The first time that the LA Rams will step up to the podium in the 2021 NFL Draft to make a selection occurs at pick 57. That means that the LA Rams will be the last team to make a draft selection in 2021.

Will a valuable prospect fall to the Rams there? Or will some player critical to another team’s draft fall to the Rams instead, giving the Rams leverage to demand additional value from that spot?  According to the 2021 NFL Draft value chart by drafttek.com, the Rams’ second-round pick carries the value of two late third-round picks.  For example, if the NY Jets wanted to trade up for the Rams pick, the exchange might look like this:

Of course, if a team wishes to trade up in round two, that sort of trade would take on the following:

Since the Rams are selecting at the 25th spot in round two, their pick loses the value of a late fourth-round pick.  And of course, none of these scenarios mean a damned thing unless another NFL team is willing to offer the Rams a premium to acquire the Rams pick.

While the LA Rams may have immediate roster needs, the experience from 2020 seems to be that rookies will not earn playing time in their first year, at least not on the offensive side of the ball. So trading back may be the team’s best option. Not only does a trade back ensure more rookies will join the team, but that they will do so at any even more affordable price thanks to the NFL rookie pay scale.