Five Takeaways from LA Rams 2021 NFL Draft

Buy one TE, get a second for 1/2 price?

4. Why did the Rams draft another tight end?

The drafting of TE/WR Jacob Harris was intended as a wake-up call to tight end Brycen Hopkins, a strong signal that they were not pleased enough with his play to warrant him seeing the field again. That’s hilarious because he never did see the field. Was he that disappointing that the LA Rams have buyer’s remorse so quickly?

After all, he was basically red-shirted by the team last year (The NFL doesn’t like that term because it implies college, but that’s what it is, in effect) and never took the field. The Rams coaches must not be seeing enough on the practice field out of Hopkins. Or perhaps, they’ve seen enough already to make them decide to draft a tight end.

The other point of this move was to fill the void, to include the downfield blocking and pass-catching void left by the now-departed TE Gerald Everett. Harris won over teams at his pro day as a stand-up receiving tight end. And the Rams musta’ liked what they saw on tape.

But the Rams were not done so quickly. After bringing back bargain-basement blocking tight end Johnny Mundt for the second time, the LA Rams must know that they will need to pay fair market value for his return in 2022. You see, Mundt hits the NFL Free Agent market next year, and the Rams will not get him back for pennies on the dollar. Enter hybrid wide receiver/tight end, Ben Skowronek, out of Notre Dame. He is a blocking machine, and will likely play a huge role in special team coverage units until he earns a place on the offense in 2021.