Did the LA Rams really want to pick versatile IOL Cole Strange?

Strange pick?

Most draft boards had Strange projected as a fourth-round pick, right around where the Rams would have (presumably) their first selection at 104. And that alignment was ideal for the Rams front office who truly cannot ignore the gaping hole in the obvious starters for the offensive line at right guard.

Even if the team is able to promote Bobby Evans, Tremayne Anchrum, or Coleman Shelton into that right guard role, the team will still need an offensive lineman to restore the Rams’ roster to an acceptable depth.

The former starter, Austin Corbett, played all seventeen regular-season games and every playoff game on the run to the title, as well as starting in Super Bowl LVI.  After playing between center Brian Allen and tackle Rob Havenstein, Corbett’s departure does create a hole that Strange may well have been able to plug.

ESPN Draft analyst Mel Kiper had previously been the most generous in his evaluation of Strange, suggesting that the idea the offensive guard might be drafted in the second round, or as he put it, was ‘A bit of a reach’. The New England Patriots must have liked what they saw in the young man, as they made him a first-round selection.

So now that we know a bit of the background, we can ask the question: Were the Rams really after him?