Five Takeaways from LA Rams 2021 NFL Draft

Ramblin Gamblin fan

5. For a team with limited draft resources and capital going into this draft, the Rams seemed to take a lot of chances in this draft.

The Allman Brothers Band had a hit song years ago named Ramblin man with these lyrics:

"‘And when it’s time for leavin’, I hope you’ll understand. That I was born a ramblin’ man. Well, my father was a gambler down in Georgia"

There’s no denying that a safe move would have been for the Rams to take a center such as Oklahoma’s Creed Humphrey, instead of Atwell with their first pick. But this is a year the Rams have committed 100% to be all in on a Super Bowl. Yes, they have made some risky moves in this draft. Bet on the exceptions to the rule. Bucked the consensus, in a draft where there wasn’t much consensus.

When viewed from the 10,000-feet perspective, the Rams went for a lot of moldable clay, and they will have to do a strong job of coaching up this draft crop. Most of the players the Rams drafted were not the consensus picks. But they also got the guys their analytics geeks urged them to nab. The defensive tackle they selected in Bobby Brown III and the cornerback they took in Robert Rochelle were solid, and perhaps most would say safe picks. But the rest seemed like a bit of a reach.

Most of their picks felt like they were seeing things through a different lens than the rest of us. And perhaps they were. When you emphasize data analytics, you end up with the conclusion that isn’t necessarily one that is going to work out on the field. Looks great on paper.

But we still have to see what emerges from the Rams training camp to draw any more precise takeaways from this draft.