New LA Rams trade-filled mock draft swells roster with young talent

The LA Rams may be entering the 2023 NFL Draft with some of their best draft picks in some time. After all, this is a team that did not have a single draft pick in the Top 100 selections in the 2022 NFL Draft, and now finds itself with two picks in the Top 70. Unfortunately, the harsh reality is that the team needs more than just two impact players. This is a team that needs roster depth as well as impact players. And with a draft that is a bit absent of true NFL star power, and plenty of talent in positions of need for the Rams, it's time to consider a scenario in which the LA Rams trade back. And so, with that in mind, our second mock draft added a new wrinkle to the mix.

Unlike our first mock draft, where we focused on team needs and tried to adhere to selecting only those players who seemed to fit what and who the Rams have selected for those needs in the past, we tried a new approach in this draft. In short, we used an online 2023 NFL Draft simulator with trades enabled and allowed the Rams to trade back if the compensation to do so was right.

Trades are always speculative, and they are based on who is on the board when the LA Rams are scheduled to make their selection. So don't hold me, or any mock drafts that project trades, to the letter of the law. We know that the Rams like to trade back in the draft to increase the number of rookies that this team can add to the roster.

Draft day trades are no sure thing

While I have included trades in this mock draft, keep in mind that draft day trades require two teams with interest in conducting any draft day transaction. Oftentimes, the trade is initiated by a team wishing to trade up and therefore must pay a premium of sorts for the opportunity to do so.

Because the LA Rams hold early picks in each round, the likelihood of teams interested in trading up is much stronger than in previous years. And I reflect that in this draft, in which I have the LA Rams trading back on four separate occasions. While you can certainly believe what the Rams should do on draft day, particularly on the matter of holding fast to their original picks or trading back, keep in mind that this draft is as much about what might a trade-happy approach look like to the LA Rams after the dust settles. In short, this is less about what the Rams SHOULD do as much as it is about what would it look like if they DID trade back.

So let's see what that might look like: