The LA Rams finally step up to the podium, albeit nearly the end of this evening’s festivities. “With the 104th pick of the NFL Draft, the LA Rams select...” If you are looking for a way to compare how far into the evening the Rams will show up? The Rams are the 72nd pick into the night, with up to seven minutes allotted between picks.
The math suggests that the LA Rams, despite the event beginning at 4:00 pm PT today, could be making a selection well after 9:00 pm PT. That’s a long time to wait. Fortunately, it will be well worth the wait. Longtime Rams great, RB Steven Jackson, will be making the announcement for the LA Rams at pick 104.
NFL legends and active players will announce various selections in Las Vegas. Below is the list of players scheduled to make selections in Rounds 2 and 3 of this year’s NFL Draft: pic.twitter.com/4fuun3t4OB
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 28, 2022
The last time that Jackson announced a pick for the Rams was during the 2017 NFL Draft, when Jackson announced:
Steven Jackson announces the Rams' 3rd round pick of Eastern Washington WR Cooper Kupp. #RamsDraft
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) April 29, 2017
Watch #NFLDraft live on @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/1B976V7pKl
Those words still ring in my ears. It was the moment that I realized just how good the LA Rams would become. In my mind, Cooper Kupp was the diamond of that draft class’s receiving corps. And the Rams wisely selected him. We all know how that turned out. Kupp just won the NFL Triple-Crown, was the Super Bowl MVP, All-Pro, and NFC Offensive Player of the Year.
That was just Cooper Kupp’s fifth season in the NFL. Applying that same timeframe over this draft means that the player selected at 104 could be a key to the LA Rams winning SB LXI. Of course, that presumes that the Rams make the selection and do not trade back.
Kupp was vital to the Rams’ success because his pairing with WR Robert Woods gave the offense two receivers who were precise route runners that could create separation as well as handle the gutsy aspects of football like blocking, decaying, and even running with the football.
Can the LA Rams capture lightning in a bottle one more time? Let’s hope so. The Rams, while picking later in the draft, will have plenty of very talented players to choose from. Clearly having Steven Jackson announce their pick in 2017 did not hurt the results in the least. So why not go back to that well one more time?