Latest B/R blockbuster trade proposal puts Rams in NFC West driver seat

The LA Rams proved almost everyone wrong in 2023, both doubters and supporters, but outperformed even some of the most ambitious and optimistic projections. Despite the team coming off of a 5-12 2022 season, and further limiting optimism by parting ways with multiple key veteran contributors, the team ended 2023 with a respectable 10-7 record.

Perhaps even more unlikely than the final record is the way that the team got there. The Rams began the 2023 season by sputtering out to a record of 3-6 at the time of their BYE week. Coupled with their 2022 record, the Rams were stuck in a dismal 8-18 tailspin. Some began to despair, and the Rams draft projections began to expect the team to finish well with the Top 10 picks of the 2024 NFL Draft. Some mock drafts even suggested that the team would be selecting from the first five draft selections in the draft.

But the team emerged from their BYE week possessed with competitive spirit. Too young to know any different, too proud to surrender to a bad season, the LA Rams pushed through to the end of the season by winning seven of their last eight games. That includes a victory over their NFC West Division Rivals, the San Francisco 49ers, despite playing their junior varsity squad. In fact the only loss to close out the season was an overtime loss on the road to the Baltimore Ravens, in a downpour.

While some projections for the Rams are very understated, some NFL analysts believe that the right veteran elite player could catapult this team into a true consensus Super Bowl contender. That leads us to the latest trade proposed by Bleacher Report's contributor Gary Davenport. He penned an article '8 Shocking NFL Trades That Would Impact Playoff Races in 2024,' as a "what if . . .?" mental exercise to consider players whose fit would elevate a team's chances to compete in the post-season at the end of 2024. And yes, he does mention the Rams in his various trade proposals.

The 8 trade proposals from Bleacher Report are completely speculative in nature. There are no official reports from unnamed sources, no whispers among NFL Insiders to inspire rumor reports. It's all pure imagination and conjecture. So why talk about it? Well, just because the source is not confirmed by an LA Rams personnel executive, it might have merits. So is this something the team might pursue? Let's consider the trade proposal to see if it makes sense: