NFL Rumors: Looks like Dolphins fleeced Rams for Jalen Ramsey

The LA Rams have dangled the name of All-Pro defensive back Jalen Ramsey long enough in the waters of NFL general managers to attract some lunker type of deals. Well, per NFL Insider Ian Rapoport, the trick is finally getting a nibble. But it won't land the Rams a first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. You see, the team now rumored to be the front-runner in bidding wars for Jalen Ramsey is none other than the Miami Dolphins, and they have no first-round draft pick this year.

NFL Rumors have named the LA Rams on a nearly daily basis. After all, this is a team that won Super Bowl LVI, and is now being disassembled, boxed, and shipped to NFL teams around the country. The latest word on the street involves Rams rumors once more, and this time it's all about DB Jalen Ramsey:

Looks like the Miami Dolphins pulled off trading for Jalen Ramsey, and with only a handful of picks available in 2023. Huh?

Rams run a charity for NFL teams

The return that the LA Rams received is almost laughable. This was not a trade that earned the Rams a first-round pick. And goodness, the two second-round picks for Ramsey that was floated now seem like a very desirable package. Instead, the Rams landed just one of the Miami Dolphins' two third-round picks (77th overall) and a seldom-used TE named Hunter Long.

Jalen Ramsey, expensive or not, controversial or not, is among the elite NFL defensive backs in the game today. Even as the Rams' secondary was a weekly test of 'who's that?' memory test due to all of the injuries to both cornerbacks and safeties, Ramsey continued to show up and lead the group. He played all 17 games for the Rams in a season when it seemed to be chic to miss games. In fact, in the past three seasons, he missed just two games. Each season, the Rams' defense added more and more to his role, eventually making him a primary edge-setter, run defender, pass defender, and turnover maker. Funny thing is, he delivered.

A small enclave of fans did not understand just how large Ramsey's role had gotten. He was gifted, very gifted. In 2020, the Rams pass defense could let Ramsey negate the opponent's best receiver, allowing the other defensive backs to focus almost exclusively elsewhere. Even in 2022, in primarily zone coverage, safeties cheated by taking their attention off Ramsey's receiver and leaning elsewhere. Quarterbacks found the chink in the Rams armor, but I don't fault Ramsey.

In return, the LA Rams chapter of TE Hunter Long will now begin.

Haven't heard of Hunter Long? There's a reason for that. He has played a grand total of 183 offensive snaps, been targeted three times, and caught one pass for eight yards. It's the equivalent of landing two bags of Cool Ranch Doritos.

While the trade is now agreed to, the transaction will not become official until the 2023 NFL season, which will begin on Wednesday, March 15, 2023, at 1:00 pm PT. So how ugly is it? You had better get a box of Kleenex handy to see it all on paper. Here are the terms of the trade:

Whelp, that is an incredibly underwhelming return for Jalen Ramsey. Seriously? A third round pick? Just . . . wow.

Dolphins fleeced the LA Rams

I'm torn between crying and laughing hysterically. I'm sorry, but there is no way that I can see this pitiful return as anything more than a complete fleecing of the LA Rams by the Miami Dolphins. Rams rumors indicated that the Rams wanted a first-round pick to get this trade done. But even if the Rams failed to do so, they could have, and should have, insisted on at least a 2023 second-round pick plus a conditional pick in 2024 based on Ramsey's performance. Instead, this is what the trade looks like:

The LA Rams clearly wanted to add Long to the transaction. He is under contract for two more seasons at a team-friendly price, which adds another player to the Rams' rapidly depleting roster. In landing Long, I will speculate that the Rams' need for a tight end in the 2023 NFL Draft has been squelched for the time being and that the urgency to address the Rams secondary has become a screaming need, complete with klaxons, alarms, and flashing red warning lights.

Okay, so who is Hunter Long?

Hunter Long is a 6-foot-5 253-pound tight end who was drafted by the Miami Dolphins out of Boston College in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft with the 82nd overall pick. As such, he has two years remaining on his rookie contract, and is projected to earn $1.3 million in 2023 and $1.5 million in 2024. If you were concerned about the LA Rams depth at tight end, you can breath easily now.

If you fixate on the draft profile of Hunter Long, you can make the argument that the Rams have landed the equivalent of two Round 3 equivalents in this trade. Praise for his route-running and pass-catching ability, Long was projected as a late Day 2 selection in the 2021 NFL Draft, which is exactly where the Dolphins announced his name.

Hunter Long arrived to the Miami Dolphins in the 2023 rookie draft class.

All potential, little production

The problem that confronts me when I try to connect the dots is that, while showing promising potential in the 2021 NFL Draft, Hunter Long's two-year NFL career has been next to nothing. He was invisible in the Dolphins' offense, and regretfully, I see no reason to expect a sudden spike in production by moving him to the other side of the country.

Sure, the Rams need offensive weapons at the tight end position. But I cannot see much upside in this trade. While the Rams now boast Tyler Higbee, Brycen Hopkins, and newly added Hunter Long at the tight end position. It's obvious that of that group, Tyler Higbee is the starter. But even seldom used Brycen Hopkins, a fourth-round selection by the Rams in the 2020 NFL Draft with the 136th overall pick, is almost assured to be the second tight end on the roster.

So the Rams traded an All-Pro defensive back for a seldom used backup and a late Day 3 draft pick in the 2023 NFL Draft? Goodness, that feels like a complete giveaway.

With the latest development, the LA Rams have shed another defensive star, the backbone of the team's pass defense, for some magic beans. Will that second pick in Round 3 do anything for the Rams in the 2023 NFL Draft? Well, We now know that the Rams must address their secondary on Day 2 of the draft, as there is no one with significant experience or production among the group.

The excitement in the NFL can come in many forms. The Miami Dolphins, for the cost of a third-round draft pick and a tight end whose name even Dolphins fans cannot recognize, have landed one of the best defensive backs in the NFL. Curiously, if that is the best offer the Rams received, then the AFC East teams - who could have offered more - definitely deserve what they get.

But we can chalk this down to the long list of Rams' trades of veterans for next to nothing. WR Robert Woods was traded for a future sixth-round pick. DT Michael Brockers was traded for a future seventh-round pick. Even WR Brandin Cooks, who almost single-handedly keep the Houston Texans offense going, could only land the LA Rams a second-round pick, and only so long as the Rams would refund the Texans a fourth-round pick.

I think Rams are aiming to start another run in 2024

The LA Rams have 11 picks in the 2023 NFL Draft, and three picks on Day 2. But if there was such a thing as an NFL Trade Machine from ESPN, the Rams win projection in 2023 would decline by (-3) three games, and the Dolphins win projection would increase by (+2) from his transaction.

Refurbish? Rebuild? The Rams roster just sank a bit lower for 2023. That tells me that the goal is not to be competitive in 2023. This is a team that is clearly the path, plowing the road, and laying salt to stay afloat in 2023, but to make a significant push in 2024.

We'll explore that line of thought in the weeks ahead. For now, the LA Rams are sellers in the 2023 NFL Free Agency Market, and they have a number of names up for grabs that could attract significant interest from other NFL teams.

Sadly, the LA Rams have based part of their roster build on the back of award compensatory draft picks. It's sad, because the Rams get a better return for players from the algorithm used by the NFL to award compensatory picks than they do in direct negotiation with other NFL teams. Yikes!