Day 1 of the 2022 NFL Draft sets LA Rams up for a Day 2 impact player

The LA Rams have been waiting to make a pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. The team, and the entire fanbase, were sidelined on Day 1 with no picks. Of course, this was no surprise, as the Rams have not made a selection during the first round of any draft where GM Les Snead and HC Sean McVay have been paired up. This year’s Round 1 pick is veteran QB, Matthew Stafford. I’m quite certain most, if not all, are quite fine with that.

But I’m no fan of that wait. Perhaps one of the most difficult aspects of any annual NFL Draft is the wait. That painstaking, arduous attempt to not fidget, to not be distracted, to appear interested as a panel of draft broadcasters tries their best to entertain viewers until that climactic moment when the pick announcement is made.

Then after the mad scramble to satisfy our curiosity of “Who did they pick?”, it’s back to that painful waiting game.  So how do we pass the time? Well for starters, let’s take a moment to regroup and reset the draft board. Who was taken in Round 1? What

Offense (16)

Wide receiver – 6
Quarterback – 1
Offensive tackle – 5
Interior offensive lineman – 4

Defense (16)

Edge rusher – 5
Defensive back- 7
Defensive lineman – 2
Linebacker – 2

So far, it’s been a pretty even-steven sort of draft. Ah, but here is where it begins to get good. For Day 2, three of the Top-10 graded prospects are quarterbacks. Other positions that were not addressed in the first round include tight end, running back, and special teams players.

NFL teams that were very active in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft have satisfied their immediate need for a defensive back, offensive tackle, and/or edge rusher. Those teams will now pivot to other positions. By my estimation, there are approximately 140 prospects remaining on the draft board right now who could be impact players during the 2022 NFL season. If you throw in punters, kickers, and return specialists, that number increases to 150 prospects.

Right now, the LA Rams have three picks that fall within that group of 150, and depending on how the board falls, could have many more picks that could arrive with impactful players still on the board. This is a very deep draft class and we’ve already witnessed how the needs of the New York Jets were addressed by the draft board that aligned perfectly with those needs. The Jets selected:

Round 1 Pick 4 – CB Sauce Gardner
Round 1 Pick 10 – WR Garrett Wilson
Round 1 Pick 26 – Edge Jermaine Johnson II

There are many very talented prospects on the board and are expected to be there when the LA Rams select at 104, 142, and 175.  So who will the LA Rams select at 104? We’ll be discussing that very soon. For now, there are plenty of impact players remaining in this draft.

Now it will be up to the LA Rams to find them.