The LA Rams invested more than draft picks into All-Pro DB Jalen Ramsey

2019 blockbuster deal

The image for NFL blockbuster deals certainly must include the face of LA Rams general manager Les Snead. Few NFL teams have gone to the lengths that he has, and even fewer have been willing to commit NFL Draft picks, particularly those in the first round, to improve the team now.

Such was the deal to pry Jalen Ramsey from the Jaguars. Even after the team had traded a bundle of first-round picks to move up to draft rookie quarterback Jared Goff, Snead was willing to package future first-rounders for Ramsey.

The deal was made. The LA Rams sent a small NFL fortune for a young defensive back. Two first-round picks were almost unheard of when trading for a non-quarterback player. But players who had achieved an All-Pro status were seldom traded before they entered their NFL prime. Now, would the team regret the purchase price?

In a word? No. Absolutely not.

In 2020, the Jaguars drafted LSU EDGE rusher K’Lavon Chaisson. In 2021, the Jaguars drafted Clemson running back Travis Etienne with the Rams first-round pick and traded the Rams fourth-round pick back to the Rams which then was used to select rookie defensive back, Robert Rochell.  In return, the Jaguars drafted Alabama-Birmingham EDGE rusher, Jordan Smith, with the 121st pick of the 2021 NFL Draft.

So far, Chaisson has been a part-time starter for the Jaguars, Etienne is on injured reserve, and Smith has yet to see any playing time.  While all three players have a long future to earn their NFL stripes, the immediate return from all three young prospects is not the type of statistical production that will help an NFL team compete for the Super Bowl.