LA Rams: Variants of Rams 1st round picks Multiverse

2017 first-round pick (5th overall traded for the right to draft Jared Goff)

The first stop in this what-if mini-analysis brings us to the 2017 selection of WR Corey Davis. If you recall, the LA Rams traded up to the first overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft and then proceeded to have a stinker of a season that prompted the Rams to part ways with former head coach Jeff Fisher and hire new head coach Sean McVay.

Los Angeles Rams

The LA Rams were looking for plenty of receiver help in the 2017 NFL Draft, and they went out and added both WR Cooper Kupp and WR Josh Reynolds later in that draft.  Would their addition of Corey Davis in round one of that draft have changed the Rams’ other choices? Well, he certainly had been one of the more productive wide receivers in the past four years.

Over his four-year NFL career, Davis has played in 56 games and started 48 of them. He has amassed 2,851 yards and 11 touchdowns while catching 61.2 percent of the passes thrown his way. For comparison, the Rams own Josh Reynolds played in 64 games and started 24 contests. He put up 1,450 yards and nine touchdowns and caught 56.2 percent of the passes thrown his way.

The 6-foot-3 209-pound wide receiver for the Tennessee Titans has since signed on with the New York Jets in free agency.  While he has been a solid receiver for the Titans, he has required plenty of patience to develop into the passing target that he is today.  Much like Josh Reynolds, his early efforts were not guaranteed completions.

While Reynolds struggled at catching the ball with an average of just over 50 percent in his first three seasons, Davis was a steadily improving set of hands at about 58 percent over his first three years. But Cooper Kupp outplayed both, with a completion rate of 70 percent over his first three years.  The Rams, by choosing later in the draft, chose more wisely and landed a better receiver.