Rams Mock Draft: Team add elite run stuffer and pass rusher in latest mock

With the 99th pick

. . . the LA Rams select Jermaine Burton, wide receiver, out of Alabama. There is a robust crop of talented wide receivers in the 2024 NFL Draft, and the team finally helps themself to one of the more intriguing receivers from the group. Jermaine Burton is a 6-foot-0 196-pound wide receiver who is versatile enough to line up either on the outside or in the slot.

The team seems to have abandoned the deep ball with the trade of Van Jefferson and the lack of opportunities to speedy WR Tutu Atwell. But with speedy tall receiver Jermaine Burton, the deep pass will almost certainly be back on the menu. Burton glides across a football field like a fish swims in water, slowly gliding in place to a sudden flurry and bust of speed that races him down the football field almost instantly.

Unlike many deep threat receivers, Burton is accomplished at route running to all three depths. He is patient enough to find a soft spot in zone coverage and sit. But he is his most dangerous when he breezes past defensive backs and threatens the back end of secondaries.

Burton is projected as high as Round 2. But there are simply too many prospects who fit that criteria, and in this mock draft simulator, Burton falls to late Round 3. Burton caught 132 passes over four seasons for 2,376 yards and 23 touchdowns. He also rushed four times for 50 yards.

Perhaps most encouraging is the fact that Burton has been consistently improving with each college football season. With his size, tenacity, and raw speed, he is an ideal prospect to add to the receiver room for the 2024 NFL season. Even if limited in his usage, he becomes an instant understudy for WR Tutu Atwell. And he brings an entirely new dimension to the offense in his rookie season.