Cardinals borrow LA Rams strategy, trade 1st round pick for veteran player

For the past five years, the LA Rams have made it a habit to trade away their first-round picks. In doing so, the Rams have never had a losing season, have appeared in the NFL Championship Game twice, and are defending Super Bowl LVI victors.  All of this in the past five years? Apparently, the Rams are onto something.

So the NFL, the copycat league, is now buzzing with teams that are eager to capture the LA Rams’ secret sauce formula to build a better roster of their own.  While several teams have already made their simulated Rams strategy public before the draft, the Arizona Cardinals waited until the first round of the NFL Draft to unveil their version of the “F*** them Picks” strategy.  The Cardinals traded their 23rd overall pick of the 2022 NFL Draft to acquire the Baltimore Ravens WR Marquise “Hollywood” Brown.

While the LA Rams had to have DBs on their shopping list, they may need to add a bit more emphasis to the cornerback position throughout the 2022 NFL Draft. The Cardinals jumpstarted their offense rather quickly with this trade. He may be no more than a replacement for outbound WR Christian Kirk, but he does bring day one production to that offense.

The trade that happened to Hollywood

What did the Cardinals give up? Well, to get “Hollywood” Marquise Brown, they had to give up some picks:

Going into the 2022 NFL Draft, the cornerback position was already a high priority for the LA Rams after losing Darious Williams and Donte Deayon in free agency, complicated even further by outright releasing Kareem Orr as well.

Now the Arizona Cardinals have added a fast receiver in Hollywood Brown to pair with DeAndre Hopkins, which means the LA Rams may need to shoot for multiple defensive backs in this draft. They will need to find one, either on the roster or in this draft, with the ability to cover the receiver that is not on Jalen Ramsey’s side.

Under defensive coordinator Raheem Morris, the defense primarily runs zone coverage, which means the team will not put an extreme amount of pressure on a cornerback to match Hollywood Brown’s speed. Still, there will be times when it will be necessary.

Edge or DB?

After the Seattle Seahawks added Charles Cross with the 9th pick in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, there is an argument to go after an EDGE rusher to match the move. Still, the Cardinals are much closer to being immediate competition for the LA Rams, so stopping their new addition is more important than stopping the Seattle Seahawks’ new addition.

While the LA Rams should make cornerback a higher priority to match the Arizona Cardinals personnel move, it is essential to remember why the Arizona Cardinals are making these moves in the first place.

The defending Super Bowl champions have had a much better and smoother offseason than the Cardinals. For Arizona, the move to acquire Hollywood Brown stems from needing to make a move to defeat the LA Rams. The Cardinals lost the Wildcard Round to the Rams, and reports surfaced that QB Kyler Murray refused to step onto the field to finish out that loss. Since that time, Murray and the Cardinals have gotten further and further apart.

This move by the Cards appears to be an appeal to placate QB Kyler Murray. Will it work? I’m not sure giving candy to a temper tantrum toddler is the wisest strategy. But we’ll see how it all plays out.

With the potential for San Francisco 49ers WR Deebo Samuel to be traded sooner rather than later, the feeling is that the Arizona Cardinals and the LA Rams will be making moves to beat one another for the next few years.

Since the LA Rams are the team on top of the NFL, Arizona is making the first move to try and prevent them from repeating as Super Bowl champions.

Now the LA Rams may need to make a move to respond to Arizona going Hollywood.