Rams Mock Draft: Les Sneads loads up roster with play-makers

With the 19th pick

. . . the LA Rams select Brock Bowers, tight end, from the University of Georgia.

The abundance of elite talent in the 2024 NFL Draft is certainly one for debate. But having surveyed a host of mock drafts, draft profiles, and forums, I have concluded two fundamental facts:

• First, there is no consensus in the 2024 NFL Draft after the first several players. While there is a consensus over which players in each positional group are tops for that position, how that position group will fare in Round 1 of the draft is anybody's guess.
• We know that depending on the mock draft you choose, you can find the Top-15 players selected can include: 5 quarterbacks, 4 wide receivers, 5 offensive tackles, 4 cornerbacks, 4 edge players, and one tight end.

Will NFL teams view a tight end as highly as the potential impact of other position groups? Or will they go for the gusto early? In this mock draft simulator, the lure of more meaningful impact players was simply too tempting to resist. That left elite tight end prospect Brock Bowers to fall to the Rams at 19.

Brock Bowers gives this team a tight-end option who can block and catch passes. Even though the team signed free agent tight end Colby Parkinson to a surprisingly lucrative multi-year deal. Is there room on this roster for Bowers? If he falls to the Rams at 19, yes there is. The team is more likely than not to part ways with oft-injured Hunter Long. That would give the Rams four tight ends for 2024, which is a good depth considering that TE Tyler Higbee is unlikely to suit up for the start of the season.

Bowers is 6-foot-3 and weighs 243 pounds. While that may not stand out, his production in the Georgia Bulldogs offense most certainly will. He is a three-year tight end with wide receiver numbers. He caught 175 passes for 2,538 yards and 26 touchdowns. He also rushed 19 times for an additional 194 yards and five touchdowns.

Now here is the real kicker. He played two seasons with Rams QB Stetson Bennett, and the two combined to lead Georgia to two consecutive NCAA Championships. Fate? Perhaps. But HC Sean McVay would love to add Brock Bowers to his offense. In this mock draft, that happens.