6 projected Day 2 targets for LA Rams in talent-packed draft

Like a dark room with a light switch, the annual NFL Draft experience for fans of the LA Rams is almost entirely dependant on one thing: Did the Rams draft the players you wanted them to select in the rounds you projected them to be found? In the end, reactions immediately following an NFL Draft in any given year is less about an objective assessment of rookie prospects and their suitability for the team's needs and culture, and more about how we 'feel' about them.

It's like the old joke about the economic difference between a downturn, a recession, or a depression. In the joke, the downturn is in employees getting laid off across the nation. A recession is when your coworkers, friends, and family members are laid off. But a depression is when you personally are laid off. The meaning of the joke is simply to point out how we often increase the magnitude of an impact the closer it hits to home.

Of course it's only natural to react that way. We often interpret events based on how those events impact our daily lives. Distant rumblings and flashes of light on the horizon may make us pick up our pace, but a cloudburst from an overhead thunderstorm makes us scurry for shelter.

NFL Draft strategy and reactions

It's due to this very reason that I try not to fall in love with any given player on the draft board at a given position, but rather try to remain focused on the position group and value of that player in the postional group. So what is the difference? For example, if I focus on edge rusher as a value-added selection in Round 2 for the team, I can celebrate the selection of any number of players chosen at that position with the 52nd overall selection.

But if I focus my attention too narrowly on a single edge rusher, then I will be disappointed if that player is not selected there. That applies whether he has been selected before the Rams can make their pick or if the Rams select another option at that position.

GM Les Snead cannot be painted into a corner like that. He must have instant and worthwhile options for the team on draft day regardless of who is and is not on the draft board.

And so, let's prepare for a more important draft day for this time. While the front office will likely make a selection at the 19th overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft on Day 1, they will make three selections among the Top 100 picks on Day 2 of the Draft. In 2023, the team emerged with three quality starters on Day 2, even after trading back once.

The team will likely emerge with two starters on Day 2 of the 2024 NFL Draft. So who might they be? Let's take a look: