NFL Rumors ignite over LA Rams plans for drafting on Day 1

The LA Rams are named as one of the NFL teams actively pursuing trading up in Round 1 of the 2024 NFL Draft. Now, here is something you probably did not expect to hear from me.

So what?

Whether ESPN NFL Insider Dan Graziano has a legitimate source in the LA Rams personnel department is irrelevant. In the 48 hours before any NFL Draft, I expect that the team will do everything possible to detail the landscape of Day 1 of the NFL Draft. How much would it take to trade up to the Xth pick in Round 1? How much would the Rams get to trade back to the Nth pick in Round 1? Those are details that LA Rams GM Les Snead has to enter the draft with, not try to scramble in live time if a player falls to a spot on the draft board that the Rams believe is within reach.

Successful teams do not stumble into an NFL Draft improvising along the way. Snead enters knowing who his team wants to select, and how much each prospect may be worth selecting. That all gets factored into a hierarchy of if/then decision trees that make the impossible time crunches of 10 minutes per draft selection manageable

ESPN NFL Insider Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler name the LA Rams among a handful of teams that are pursuing trading up in Round 1. The question is: For whom?

"Trades from the teens into the top five or top 10 for quarterbacks are fun to discuss, but they are tough to execute because of the expense associated with such deals. The people I talk to think we’re likely to see more trades in the second half of the first round than in the first half. The Colts (No. 15), Jaguars (No. 17), Rams (No. 19), and Eagles (No. 22) are all teams I’ve heard have been making calls about potentially moving up."

ESPN NFL Insider Dan Graziano

I assert that every NFL team has pursued multiple scenarios to trade up or trade back - IF CERTAIN CONDITIONS PREVAIL. What I mean by that is that if UCLA OLB Laiatu Latu falls to 15, the Rams may have contacted the Indianapolis Colts to determine what the Colts expect from the Rams in terms of compensation to trade back to 19.

Those conditions may be met by the Rams, but only if their trading partner is dissatisfied with prospects on the board when they make a selection.

The Rams may have the framework for multiple trade ups and trade backs in Round 1. But they may not have the opportunity to make those trades until the conditions of both teams involved in that trade scenario are met.

This is not a situation to be triggered by. It's not even surprising news. It is the standard practice of every NFL GM to know what the cost or return will be to trade picks on draft day.

Even if the right prospect falls and Snead attempts to pull the trigger, there is no guarantee that the other team will agree. Welcome to Day 1 of the 2024 NFL Draft, folks. There is always a bit of mystery and drama whenever Round 1 arrives.

Thanks for reading.