NFL experts latest 2024 NFL redraft holds very bad news for the LA Rams
By Bret Stuter
Why Verse was the optimal pick for the Rams in Round 1
The toughest part of any draft strategy is the battle to pick to the needs of the team, versus the interest in selecting the Best Player Available (BPA). While some fans believe the two strategies are mutually exclusive, the Rams front office proved that they needn't be. The Rams defense needed a bookend pass rusher who could step onto the football field on opening day and add a counterbalance to second-year OLB Bryon Young.
He has done all of that, and so much more. He was the best overall outside linebacker in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Rams fans have some moments in past NFL drafts where the Rams front office seemed oblivious to the team's needs. The 2024 NFL Draft was a similar story as the team frantically worked the phones to trade up for either Georgia TE Brock Bowers or Texas DT Byron Young. Thankfully, the team was saved from itself. As a result, the Rams did in fact stand pat at 19, and ended up with arguably the best defensive player in this draft.
The Rams cleverly masked their love of Verse even as the cameras rolled on draft day. If the Rams best offer to move up in Round 1 was their 19th overall paired with their 52nd overall pick, that is hardly the 'can't resist,' type of offer that ensures a trade partner will listen with earnest.
Did the Rams stumble into Verse by accident? I don't know that, even with visual evidence to the contrary, that the team was whole-heartedly sold on trading up. Note how the team was so willing to pay the premium in Round 2 to move up for Florida State DT Braden Fiske.
So, let's carry the redraft into Round 2: