Post Trade LA Rams mock draft reloads defense for 2023

With the 69th pick

The LA Rams select Andre Carter II, edge rusher, from Army. The LA Rams defense is being disassembled before the beginning of the new 2023 NFL season, which creates an urgent need to address the team's depth and talent on the defensive side of the football. There are many outside linebackers in this draft, but few are better suited for the LA Rams defense than Carter.

The LA Rams need an edge rusher who can start for the defense on Day 1 of the 2023 NFL season, and the 6-foot-6 256-pound Carter can do it. He showed up on Bruce Feldman's 2023 Draft Freaks list, as he joined Army's football team as a 230-pound tight end, and finished as a 260-pound edge rusher. He tied Michigan's Aidan Hutchinson's pass-rushing grade in 2022, so you just know he has the jets to get to the quarterback in a flurry.

He is a long and incredibly athletic edge rusher who could stand to add another 10-20 pounds of muscle. But even as-is, he is a strong candidate to start for the LA Rams defense. The guy will be tough to keep off the football field, because he has the type of pass rush that will start opposing quarterbacks scrambling early. And with Michael Hoecht on the opposite side and Aaron Donald coming up the middle, the Rams pass rush can dominate once more.

Carter has so much power and athleticism, but running the show is a football IQ savant. He can react and pivot as quickly and gracefully as a wide receiver or a running back. And he is extremely coachable and disciplined, a true lockerroom kind of guy that will generate a boost to his teammates production as well. Two picks and two project starters. Can the LA Rams keep the momentum going?