LA Rams post season Mock Draft adds strong TE and OL to roster

Now that the LA Rams have finished their 2021 NFL Season with a record of 12-5 and have laid claim to their third NFC West Division title in five seasons, it’s not too soon to take a peek into who the front office may deem as suitable prospects for the 2022 NFL Season.  After all, in a matter of one month, all of this will be history, and the LA Rams will be restocking the roster once more.

It won’t be an easy task.  Despite the team’s efficiency of finding serviceable youth throughout the draft, the team has never been quite as committed to finding starters on Day 3.  But that is the path that the front office and the coaching staff have laid out this year.  The Rams purposefully traded 2022 draft picks to acquire talent that would help them win in the 2021 NFL season.

Well, spending the currency of any type creates opportunity costs. That is, the choice of one path costs the team the option of walking the other path. And so, for the right to start Matthew Stafford, Sony Michel, and Von Miller this season, the Rams will not be using their first-round, second-round, third-round, or sixth-round draft picks obtained as part of their annual allotment.

Better late than never

So when do the LA Rams pick? Let’s revisit our LA Rams future draft picks article, and cite the rounds of their projected eight picks in the 2022 NFL Draft. Keep in mind that the order in which the teams select in the draft from playoff teams is determined in the reverse order of how far that team advances. Regardless of season record, the Super Bowl runner up always selects 31st, and the Super Bowl winner always selects 32nd in each round:

• Round three – one
• Round four –   one
• Round five –    one
• Round six –    three
• Round seven – two

The distribution is no picks on Day one. One pick (not in the Top100) on Day Two. Finally, the Rams will have seven picks on Day Three. That should change the team’s strategy significantly. By selecting outside of the Top 100 prospects, the Rams will be forced to plug roster holes with veterans from the free agency market who can start.  Late-round rookie prospects will all have some area of concern or question that will keep them outside of the top rookies in the draft.

Instead, the Rams strategy cannot be to select ‘bricks’ in the 2022 NFL Draft, but rather mortar to fill the cracks in the roster and round it out to become a solid foundation for success next year. Hopefully, the front office and coaching staff have had their fill of small-but-mighty speedsters and can address the need for durable and coachable players who can step up when the team needs them to do so.