LA Rams future draft picks: 2022 NFL Draft and beyond

The LA Rams are a team that has a very simplistic yet complex formula for success. The team identifies a handful of game-changing NFL players, pays them very handsomely, and uses them to anchor the team’s performance and expectations. In short, the Rams have All-Pro caliber players like Aaron Donald, Jalen Ramsey, Andrew Whitworth, and now Matthew Stafford, all of whom have plenty of football experience and give younger and less talented players unique opportunities to learn from the NFL elites.

But the second part of the formula is the trickier part. The Rams cast large nets to add young talent to the team. They do so through the NFL Draft, focusing on day two through day seven players who can develop into NFL-caliber players.  The Rams do not rush players onto the football field. Rather, they invest the coaching and patience necessary to allow young players to earn their roles. By year two, they are on the rotation. By year three, they are starters. By year four, they have reached their peak. And by the end of their rookie contract, they sign on for large dollars on another NFL team and are considered in an NFL algorithm in a formula to award the Rams any compensatory draft picks in the following year.

That starts the process all over again. So how do we figure out what those future draft picks will be?

Well, we don’t need to. The experts over at Over the Cap.com have already done so, and project the LA Rams will receive five awarded compensatory draft picks in 2022. The Rams have one third-round compensatory draft pick for the hiring of Brad Holmes by the Detroit Lions as their new general manager. Although the Rams had lost five players to free agency, there is a cap for the awarding of just four draft picks per year to one team in that manner.

As we had noted in a previous article,  NFL.com’s draft analyst Lance Zierlein had also come out with a projection for draft picks with his 2022 NFL Draft: Compensatory pick projections for every team. In his article, he confirms that the LA Rams currently project to be the only NFL team to be awarded five compensatory draft picks in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Still, that only sets the stage for future draft picks, and does nothing to give the down and dirty details of the future draft picks and in which rounds they will occur. So let’s remedy that right now, shall we?

2022 NFL Draft

It’s almost surreal to see that the 2021 NFL regular season is nearly halfway completed and that some NFL teams are already heavily invested at looking at the 2022 NFL Draft as the next pit stop where they may take on the right players and coaching staff to lead them to a better future. Teams like the Detroit Lions, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants, and New York Jets have multiple first-round draft picks. But will they choose wisely?

For the LA Rams, we do know that the team will benefit by the second of two third-round compensatory draft picks in 2022 due to the hiring of Brad Holmes as the GM of the Detroit Lions. Per the Over the Cap tracker, the Rams lost safety John Johnson, outside linebacker Samson Ebukam, tight end Gerald Everett, cornerback Troy Hill, and defensive end Morgan Fox. Other free agents lost, such as wide receiver Josh Reynolds or running back Malcolm Brown, were simply below the cutoff for compensatory pick calculations.

The draft concluded April 30, 2022. Here are the 2022 NFL Draft results.

Draft picks

Round 1 – TRADED. The LA Rams have traded their 2022 first-round pick to the Detroit Lions for quarterback Matthew Stafford.

Round 2– TRADED. The Rams have tentatively traded their second-round pick to the Denver Broncos for Von Miller.

Round 3 – TRADED The Rams have tentatively traded their third-round pick to the Denver Broncos for Von Miller.

Round 4 – TRADED The LA Rams traded their 2022 fourth-round pick to Houston Texans with WR Brandin Cooks as compensation for a 2020 second-round pick

Round 5 – The Rams hold their fifth-round pick.
Round 6 – TRADED: The Rams traded their sixth-round pick as part of the compensation package for New England Patriots running back Sony Michel.

Round 7 – The Rams hold their seventh-round pick.
Round 7 – The LA Rams will receive the Miami Dolphins’ 2022 seventh-round draft picks as part of the exchange which sent Aqib Talib to the Dolphins.

COMPENSATORY PICKS:

Round 3 – The Rams will be awarded a 2022 third-round compensatory pick for the loss of Director of College Scouting Brad Holmes to the Detroit Lions as their new General Manager (Pick 104)
Round 4 – The Rams will be awarded a fourth-round compensatory pick for the loss of safety John Johnson (Pick 142)
Round 6 – The Rams will be awarded a sixth-round compensatory pick for the loss of cornerback Troy Hill (Pick 211)
Round 6 – The Rams will be awarded a sixth-round compensatory pick for the loss of outside linebacker Samson Ebukam (Pick 212)

Round 6 – The Rams will be awarded a sixth-round compensatory pick for the loss of tight end Gerald Everett (Pick 218)

That will bring the Rams’ 2022 NFL Draft picks to a total of ten picks. Of course, these are projections only and are not some guaranteed number of picks. But two reputable NFL websites independently confirm the number, so it’s as good of a projection as possible right now.

• First Round
• No picks
• Second Round
• No picks
• Third Round
• No. 104
• Fourth Round
• No. 142
• Fifth Round
• No. 175 No. 164
• Sixth Round
• No. 211
• No. 212
• No. 218
• Seventh Round
• No. 238
• No. 253

The final estimated tally is as follows:

• First round – 0 (none)
• Second round – 0 (none)
• Third round – 1 (one)
• Fourth-round – 1 (one)
• Fifth round – 1 (one)
• Sixth round – 3 (three)
• Seventh round – 1 (one)
• Total 2022 NFL Draft picks – 7 (seven)

The LA Rams may not have early picks, but they have eight picks in a draft that many draft analysts believe are backloaded with the most value on Day 3.

2023 NFL Draft

After the 2022 NFL Draft, there is no way to gauge the number or extend of the NFL Free Agency market and the subsequent impact upon the calculations necessary for a good projection of awarded NFL compensatory picks.  Since much of the Rams draft currency now originates from the loss of free agents, that will make the 2022 NFL Draft appear to be rather Spartan for now.

The Rams offense is currently led by veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford, a player whose contract, if not extended beforehand, expires in 2023. There is no way that the team will allow him to walk away. Perhaps the current delay in extending his contract is to get a good feel of how he performs in a very competitive post-season.

It’s the likelihood of several potential free agents in 2022 who could set the LA Rams 2023 NFL Draft up for a huge harvest of rookie talent. The team projected 2022 free agents include DB Darious Williams, DT Sebastian Joseph Day, OL Austin Corbett, OL Brian Allen, RB Sony Michel, WR DeSean Jackson, and PK Matt Gay. The Rams may extend some players, but a number of veterans will not return. Where and for how much will they sign will certainly drive the Rams draft in 2023.

UPDATED: May 1, 2022

Round 1 – TRADED. The LA Rams have tentatively traded their 2023 first-round pick to the Detroit Lions for quarterback Matthew Stafford.

Round 2– The Rams hold their second-round pick.
Round 3 – The Rams hold their third-round pick.
Round 4 – TRADED. The Rams have traded away their fourth-round pick as the final compensation for acquiring running back Sony Michel from the New England Patriots.

Round 5 – TRADED- The Rams traded their fifth-round pick to the Cleveland Browns for DB Troy Hill.

Round 6 – The Rams hold their sixth-round pick.
Round 6 – ACQUIRED VIA TRADE: The Rams have acquired a 2023 sixth-round pick from the Tennessee Titans in exchange for wide receiver Robert Woods

Round 6 – ACQUIRED VIA TRADE: The Rams have traded for the right to swap their 2023 seventh-round pick for the Green Bay Packers’ sixth-round pick

Round 7 – TRADED. The Rams traded away their seventh-round pick for the Green Bay Packers’ sixth-round pick (see above).

Round 7 – ACQUIRED VIA TRADE: The LA Rams will receive the Detroit Lions 2023 seventh-round draft pick as part of the exchange which sent DL Michael Brockers to the Lions.

COMPENSATORY PICKS: Due to player losses in the 2022 NFL Free agency, the LA Rams are projected to be awarded the following compensatory draft pick in 2023 (Per Over The Cap.com):

Round 5 – The Rams currently project to be awarded a fifth-round compensatory pick for the loss of offensive guard Austin Corbett.

Round 5 – The Rams currently project to be awarded a fifth-round compensatory pick for the loss of defensive back Darious Williams

Round 6 – The Rams currently project to be awarded a sixth-round compensatory pick for the loss of nose tackle Sebastian Joseph-Day

Round 7 – The Rams currently project to be awarded a seventh-round compensatory pick for the loss of outside linebacker Ogbonnia Okoronkwo.

OFFSETS: The loss of OLB Von Miller (estimated fifth-round) has been offset by the signing of WR Allen Robinson.

The final estimated tally for the 2023 NFL Draft is as follows:

• First round – 0 (none)
• Second round – 1 (one)
• Third round – 1 (one)
• Fourth-round – 0 (zero)
• Fifth-round – 2 (two)
• Sixth-round – 4 (four)
• Seventh-round – 2 (two)
• Total 2023 NFL Draft picks– 10 (nine)

The final tally for the LA Rams 2023 NFL Draft right now stands at nine. That could change as additional projections become available for the Rams awarded compensatory draft picks for the 2023 NFL Draft. The maximum number of compensatory picks for one team is four, and the maximum number of total compensatory picks stands at 32.

2024 and 2025 NFL Draft

From this point beyond the 2023 NFL Draft, the LA Rams have not traded nor acquired any NFL Draft picks via trade, transactions, or awarding of compensatory draft picks. That makes 2024 and beyond rather simple to calculate because the team merely possesses their annual allotment of draft picks in each subsequent year going forward.

Round 1 – The Rams hold their first-round pick.
Round 2– The Rams hold their second-round pick.
Round 3 – The Rams hold their third-round pick.
Round 4 – The Rams hold their fourth-round pick
Round 5 – The Rams hold their fifth-round pick.
Round 6 -The Rams hold their sixth-round pick.
Round 6 – The Rams have obtained the Denver Broncos-sixth round pick

Round 7 – The Rams have traded away their seventh-round pick. (see above)
COMPENSATORY PICKS: Unable to determine at this time

The final estimated tally is as follows: first round – 1 (one), second round – 1 (one), third round – 1 (one), fourth-round – 1 (one), fifth-round – 1 (one), sixth-round – 2 (two), seventh-round – 0 (none). Total – 7 (seven)

The final tally for the LA Rams 2024 NFL Draft right now stands at seven. That could increase as projections become available for the Rams awarded compensatory draft picks for the 2024 NFL Draft.

2025 NFL Draft

As stated previously, there are no transactions on record that will impact the LA Rams 2025 NFL Draft. The team currently holds just seven draft picks as originally allotted for the 2025 NFL Draft.

Round 1 – The Rams hold their first-round pick.
Round 2– The Rams hold their second-round pick.
Round 3 – The Rams hold their third-round pick.
Round 4 – The Rams hold their fourth-round pick
Round 5 – The Rams hold their fifth-round pick.
Round 6 -The Rams hold their sixth-round pick.
Round 7 – The Rams hold their seventh-round pick.

COMPENSATORY PICKS: Unable to determine at this time

The LA Rams currently project to have their initial first-round pick under the Sean McVay era in 2024. Project is the operative word, as the Rams have shown no affection for that most valued of draft picks in the past, and if a game-changing veteran appears on the trade block, the Rams have shown no hesitation to trade first-round picks for a deserving player.

With today’s news, the Rams front office is already making moves to improve their draft position in a draft that is three years away. While you may just shrug your shoulders and believe it’s all just random chance, the Rams personnel and draft offices have shown the ability to project solid draft classes in the past.

Will the 2024 NFL Draft be something special? Or was 2024 chosen because it was the first year where the LA Rams had a seventh-round pick to exchange for the Denver Broncos sixth-round pick?

Anything goes.