How Rams trade of Cooper Kupp alters team's 2025 NFL Draft strategy

The LA Rams may have prioritized the wide receiver position in the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft. But after the team's plans to trade veteran wide receiver Cooper Kupp 'immediately,' were made public, the team's priorities in the upcoming draft have changed. At least, you have to hope for significant changes. If the front office allows expiring contracts for wide receivers to result in the parting of ways with the team, the Rams are now on track to lose four wide receivers at the start of the 2025 NFL season. They include:

WR Tutu Atwell
WR Demarcus Robinson
WR Tyler Johnson
And now, WR Cooper Kupp.

For a team that is hoping to put far more points on the scoreboard in 2025, the team has taken a huge step backward. Of 22 passing touchdowns scored by the Rams offense in 2024, the players listed above accounted for 14 of those touchdowns. That is just shy of two-thirds of the team's scoring through the air last season.

Just wow.

If you haven't had a good cup of coffee just yet, this may be a lot to spring on you. I'd only found out at dinner with friends yesterday, and have stayed up until the wee hours to address this development from several key angles, including:

I was busy last night.

But now we have to revisit the Rams draft needs for the 2025 NFL Draft. As January 2025 ended, I listed the team's draft needs as follows:

Must haves (in no particular order):

Wide Receiver (just added)
Tight end
Quarterback
Offensive tackle
Explosive playmaker (RB/TE/WR)
Nose Tackle
Shutdown CB
Inside linebacker

As you can now see, the team has eight must have positions addressed in the 2025 NFL Draft, and only seven picks to use to address those needs. Something has to give. I suspect that the team will exert significant effort to retain veteran players who may have been less of a priority before the Kupp Trade rumors. But the team clearly has to shift its weight from adding explosive playmakers all across the roster, to keying in on the team's wide receiver room to make significant investments.

Sadly, the Rams had only draft Texas WR Jordan Whittington in the 2024 NFL Draft, a draft that many NFL Draft analysts considered to be bursting with top-tier talent. The Rams must now pivot to at least weigh the value of drafting a talented wide receiver in Round 1.

Or, do they?

The Rams front office has fixated on the tight end position in the past two drafts, and with the abundance of talent at the tight end position in this draft class still has me torn as to whether the team goes tight end or wide receiver with that valuable Round 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Ironically, the team would love to have a Round 2 pick this year. But selecting Braden Fiske in Round 2 was the right move.

Are there Day 3 gems to add to the team's wide receiver room in the 2025 NFL Draft? As of right now, the team is relying heavily upon Puka Nacua (Round 5) and Jordan Whittington (Round 6), both of whom were drafted in the past two years late in the draft on Day 3. Could GM Les Snead have more magic up his sleeve this year?

If I have learned only one thing about the LA Rams front office, it's that when the chips are down, they seem to shock everyone with their ability to find diamonds in the rough. The team may be parting ways with legendary veteran wide receiver Cooper Kupp, but the team already has Nacua and Whittington waiting in the wings. The team needs to find one more wide receiver to complete the set.

That is the goal for the team in the 2025 NFL Draft, and I think they will overshoot the mark once more.

As always, thanks for reading.

How Rams trade of Cooper Kupp alters team's 2025 NFL Draft strategy

Must haves (in no particular order):

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