5 Bold Predictions that will shock fans for LA Rams in the 2024 NFL Draft

IV: Rams will pick 3 defensive players by the end of Day 2

It makes entertaining and controversial reading to engage fans with suggestions that the team will trade up for a top-tier wide receiver, a franchise left offensive tackle, or an elite tight end. While there may be good reasons for targeting one or all of those positions in the 2024 NFL Draft, the investment only truly makes sense if this team believes that the team is just one player away from a Super Bowl Championship roster.

As of right now, either they are, or they aren't. One rookie selected early in Round 1 offers no guarantees of performance, has a relatively high price tag compared to colleagues selected in later rounds, and will still suffer the same rookie learning curve that ultimately impacts the first season of nearly all rookies.

The Rams need multiple high quality players on defense, quality that they will only find on the draft board among the Top 100 selections of this draft. While I cannot pinpoint which positions and how often the team will pick from those positions, I do believe that the Rams view the 2024 NFL Draft as a defensive draft, and will stack their draft board to land three defensive prospects by the end of Day 2.

III: One of Rams coveted players falls to them at 19th overall

The LA Rams may get nervous and will feel the itch on their trigger finger to pull off a nerve-wracking trade on draft day, but patience pays off in this one. If the Rams sit tight at the 19th overall pick, one of their top-tier targets will fall to them there.

The list of those prospects includes:

• WR Rome Odunze - Washington
• Edge Laiatu Latu - UCLA
• DT Byron Murphy II - Texas
• CB Quinyon Mitchell - Toledo
• QB Drake Maye - North Carolina
• OT Troy Fautanu - Washington
• Edge Chop Robinson - Penn State
• WR Bryan Thomas Jr. - LSU
• TE Brock Bowers - Georgia

The Rams will have options throughout this draft, and fans may not see the value of the prospects that this team chooses instantly. That's to be expected, as neither OLB Byron Young nor NT Kobie Turner were greeted by standing ovations in the 2023 NFL Draft.

I love the Rams positions in the 2024 NFL Draft, particularly in the first three rounds. The team is high enough to take advantage of any prospect who is falling on the draft board unexplainably. But the team is choosing late enough in each round to capitalize on the mistakes of other teams that may reach for prospects.