LA Rams success makes 2021 trades better bargains

The LA Rams are not exactly counting the days until the 2022 NFL Draft right now. After all, the team is less than 24 hours away from competing in the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs. Right now, the Rams are one of eight teams still in the mix to win the Super Bowl. After this weekend, the number of NFL teams still competing for the NFL Championship will fall to four teams.

Why do I mention it? Well, these are important facts to the Detroit Lions organization and fanbase. To be fair, it also matters to the Denver Broncos. In fact, there is even some meaning to the New England Patriots. How so?

There are 32 teams in the NFL. The order of selecting in the upcoming 2022 NFL Draft is determined in reverse order of how teams finished. Since the Jacksonville Jaguars finished with the worst record in the 2021 NFL Season, they will choose first.

But the rules of determining the order changes for teams that make the playoffs. For those teams that were already eliminated: The Arizona Cardinals, Dallas Cowboys, Las Vegas Raiders, New England Patriots, Philadelphia Eagles, and Pittsburgh Steelers, they are now ordered for selections 19-24 based on inverse order of their regular-season record.

The LA Rams are now choosing no earlier than 25th in each round of the upcoming NFL Draft. But if they win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they will choose no earlier than 29th in each round of the upcoming draft. So why is that positive news?

Let’s recap. Throughout the 2021 NFL season, the LA Rams made the following trades:

For QB Matthew Stafford:

If the LA Rams had been ousted by the Arizona Cardinals in the Wildcard Round, the Rams 2022 first-round pick would have been valued at 760 (per the Draftek.com 2022 NFL Trade Value Chart). Right now, the Rams pick owned by the Detroit Lions has an estimated value of 660. That drop in value is the draft equivalent of losing a fourth-round draft pick.

If the Rams win the Super Bowl, the value of that pick will drop to 590.  The devaluing of the pick to the Detroit Lions in that scenario is the loss of a third-round pick’s value. The Lions are so focused on that pick, that they feature articles about where the LA Rams pick will end up. And this one, just click this link here.

For RB Sony Michel:

While the drop in order in the sixth round is not earth-shattering, the impact of the Rams pick falling could be the difference in the Patriots landing a key contributor, or watching as another team selects him.

For OLB Von Miller:

The Denver Broncos have doubled down on their interest in the LA Rams draft picks, owning both the Rams’ second-round and third-round picks. They too lost draft value when the Rams defeated the Cardinals, to the tune of losing 73 draft value, or the equivalent of a fourth-round pick. If the Rams win the Super Bowl this year, the Broncos will pay the price by losing the equivalent of a third-round pick as a result.

There is more uncertainty in the NFL Draft than just the outcome of any rookies chosen. Successful teams are penalized by picking later, and the LA Rams have been a very successful team since hiring head coach Sean McVay. In essence, the team avoids a great deal of uncertainty by trading away those picks. Right now, the Lions, the Broncos, and to a lesser extent, the Patriots are getting pinched due to the Rams’ success.