LA Rams projected to be awarded 4 comp picks in 2023 NFL Draft

Throughout the season, there have been whispers, rumors, conjectures, and just plain speculation over the LA Rams 2023 NFL Draft, and the number of picks that the Rams would have.  We had been actively tracking the number of picks projected to be awarded to the LA Rams in the upcoming draft, as well as all of the trades and transactions that have impacted the Rams’ 2023 NFL Draft. Some thought the Rams would have 11 picks. Others neglected to consider awarded compensatory picks, and have been saying six picks. The Rams will have 10 picks in the 2023 NFL Draft.

If you want those projected picks and the transactions that have resulted in changes to the Rams draft pick profile, you can click on this link here. If you want to compare the LA Rams draft picks profile, then you may want to check out this article that compares the projected picks for the Rams in the 2023 NFL Draft to each previous draft under LA Rams head coach Sean McVay.

But until now, much of the estimation for the LA Rams’ projected awards for compensatory picks have been based upon the contracts signed by LA Rams free agents with other teams. Now, Over The Cap has published their Projecting The 2023 Compensatory Picks annual article, and they have confirmed what we had suspected all along. The LA Rams will max out their awarded compensatory draft picks with four picks projected in the 2023 NFL Draft.  So who did the LA Rams lose to generate these picks? Let’s take a look:

DB Darious Williams – Projected fourth-round compensatory pick
Did the LA Rams miss Darious Williams? Well, the pass defense certainly seemed to regress in his absence. And for the Jacksonville Jaguars, he was outstanding in pass coverage, allowing just 46 of 91 passes thrown at his receiver to find their target. Williams wanted a pay hike, and the Rams simply did not have that kind of available cash. Williams got paid, and now, it appears that the LA Rams will have a valuable pick on Day 3 to try to find a young rookie who can make significant contributions to the team in 2023.

IOL Austin Corbett – Projected fifth-round compensatory pick
The LA Rams lost Austin Corbett to the NFL Free Agency market, and in the end, invested a fifth-round pick to acquire him, and are projected to recoup that pick in 2023. Would the Rams rather have Corbett on their roster?  Probably. The Panthers shrewdly constructed their three-year deal with two void years and pushed most of the compensation into 2023. Corbett was just over $3.1 million in 2022, but that will balloon into almost $11 million in 2023. Still, the Rams get a pick to reinforce the offensive line.

DL Sebastian Joseph-Day – Projected sixth-round compensatory pick
With the Rams’ defensive line already straining to find sufficient snaps for so many young talented players like Greg Gaines, Bobby Brown III, and Michael Hoecht, the Rams let Sebastian Joseph-Day seek a payday and larger role elsewhere. Bash found a contract with the cross-town LA Chargers, and delivered his standard package of run-stuffing combined with some pass rush. Is a sixth-round pick adequate compensation? Curiously, that is the round where the Rams selected SJD.

OLB Ogbonnia Okoronkwo – Projected sixth-round compensatory pick
The LA Rams curiously allowed a depleted outside linebacker group to suffer the loss of a key rotational player, Ogbonnia Okoronkwo. Did the Rams feel his absence? I think so, yes. After all, the team outright released two of his teammates: Justin Hollins and Terrell Lewis. While Obo was racking up 44 tackles and five quarterback sacks, the Rams’ defense was scrambling in an effort to manufacture pressure on opposing quarterbacks. The Rams drafted him in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL Draft, so the team nearly recouped their investment. But in 20/20 hindsight, the Rams may have been more content to have re-signed Obo and waived his teammates in last year’s offseason.