What DO the LA Rams need in the 2022 NFL Draft?

The LA Rams are a savvy and calculating NFL organization that seems to use the NFL Draft to bolster the roster depth at those positions vulnerable to losses to free agency the following year. In short, the Rams 2022 NFL Draft class is most likely aiming at addressing potential losses by the team in the 2023 NFL Free Agency market.

Of course, there are some extenuating circumstances that may force the team to address depth here and now.  But for the most part, the Rams would rather face 2023 knowing that the team has been developing depth for a full season, rather than be painted into a corner trying to address immediate roster needs.

Based upon the projected attrition of the players due to hit free agency in 2022, you would correctly prioritize the LA Rams roster needs as:

I – Interior offensive line (Projected losses – Austin Corbett, Brian Allen, Coleman Shelton)
II -Inside linebacker (Projected losses – Travin Howard, Troy Reeder)
III – Cornerback (Projected losses – Darious Williams, Donte Deayon)
IV – Edge rusher (Projected losses – Von Miller, Ogbonnia Okoronkwo)
V – Offensive tackle (Projected losses – Andrew Whitworth, Joseph Noteboom)

Of course, wherever the LA Rams are successful at extending a key contributor, the immediate roster need is lessened.  But what if we turned one eye towards the players due to hit free agency in 2023, per Spotrac.com? Then what do we find?

I – Defensive tackle (Projected losses – A’Shawn Robinson, Greg Gaines, Marquise Copeland, Michael Hoecht)
II – Safety (Projected losses – Taylor Rapp, Nick Scott, Jake Gervase)
III – Running Back (Projected losses – Darrell Henderson Jr., Xavier Jones, Raymond Calais)
IV – Quarterback (Projected losses – Matthew Stafford, Bryce Perkins)

While these are the singularly hardest hit positions on the LA Rams depth chart in the stated years, it does not consider the aggregate effect of attrition of combining the two NFL seasons.

At first glance, that’s quite a shopping list for just eight draft picks, none of which will fall among the Top-100 in the 2022 NFL Draft. So how do you see the LA Rams’ specific needs for the 2022 NFL Draft? Keep in mind that if you do not address holes that develop in the roster due to free agency attrition, that could be disastrous for the team.

For now, we believe that the Rams will keep an eye on any offensive skill player (It’s still Sean McVay’s team after all, right?), and try to deeper the roster at:

IOL
ILB
DB
OLB
OT

Will that be the plan the Rams front office executes?  Perhaps, or perhaps not. But for the moment, it is both the most logical and defendable shopping list for the LA Rams in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Come to think of it, that’s probably why the team will target different positions. They seldom follow conventional strategies whenever draft picks are involved.