LA Rams Mock Draft 2021: Trade w Lions, Bears nets 9 picks

Round five, pick 164

With the 164th pick of the 2021 NFL Draft, the LA Rams select wide receiver Austin Watkins Jr. from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The LA Rams have plenty of speed and route running techicians in the receiver room. With this pick, the Rams torque up their physicality.

Watkins is the cousin of NFL receiver Sammy Watkins, a former receiver of the LA Rams and currently playing for the Baltimore Ravens. But Austin Watkins Jr. catches the LA Rams eye in round five because he is a glue-handed tough sonofagun coming off the line. Nobody is talking about how the LA Rams new quarterback Matthew Stafford can throw into contested coverages. So the LA Rams grab a receiver who can wrestle the ball away from defenders.

The Rams move outside their comfort zone of crisp route runner into the realm of physical receiver, but it’s for a good cause. Austin Watkins Jr. stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 207 pounds. While not a blazer, his 4.52-second 40-yard dash time is perfectly acceptable. After all, the team love standout performers in the Senior Bowl, and he certainly showed up and played well. The receiver group of the 2021 NFL Draft class is both talented and deep.

The Rams lost WR Josh Reynolds to free agency, but added speedy veteran DeSean Jackson in free agency, and now pick up a rugged and feisty rookie receiver as well.