Rams Rumors: LA Rams tried to trade up into Round 1, for who?

There are many aha moments after the fact of the 2023 NFL Draft. Curiously, one of those moments involved the LA Rams and the 2023 NFL Draft. If you were as glued to the entire three-day NFL event, you were likely not surprised by the fact that the LA Rams were content to stand pat on their 36th overall pick and emerge with an outstanding and versatile interior offensive lineman out of TCU named Steve Avila.

But now that the Rams have emerged from the 2023 NFL Draft with 14 rookie prospects, I have to admit that I am a bit surprised to learn after the fact that the Rams were trying to trade into Round 1 of the 2023 NFL Draft. How do I know? Well, that is the NFL Rumors as reported by ESPN NFL Insider Jeremy Fowler

Among teams that looked into potentially trading into the late first round last night, per sources: #Titans #Rams #Patriots #Falcons

Could have implications at the top of the second round.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) April 28, 2023

That's a curious factoid. If the Rams wanted to trade up into Round 1, even as late as the 31st overall pick, it would have taken their Round 2 pick which was the 36th overall pick, plus two of their Round 5 picks. I'm not so sure, purely from a number of picks standpoint, that strategy would have set well with me. So who were the two draft targets that the Rams had to move up for? For that answer, we have this report from Rams beat blogger Jake Ellenbogen:

SOURCE: #Rams talked to multiple teams in hopes to trade up. They had their eyes on Utah TE Dalton Kincaid and Clemson EDGE Myles Murphy. No one would bite and so the Rams are slated to pick 36th tomorrow if they don’t trade the pick. pic.twitter.com/z3zDifwbSW
— JAKE ELLENBOGEN (@JKBOGEN) April 28, 2023

There was a lot of buzz over Utah tight end Dalton Kincaid in the weeks leading up to the draft. It is clear that the LA Rams were eager to upgrade their tight end position. I fear that even had the Rams added Kincaid from Round 1, he would be redshirted for much of the 2023 NFL season.

Perhaps even more curious is the interest in Clemson Edge rusher Myles Murphy. At 6-foot-5 and 268 pounds, Murphy is a much different type of edge rusher than the Rams had added for the position. And yet, he was projected to hear his name called as early as a Top-10 prospect.

In either case, the cost of trading up was bound to be steep. What were the Rams prepared to pay? Well, clearly the cost was a Rams second-round pick, and likely multiple picks that included a 2024 pick as well. Would it have been worth it? Well, if either player becomes a Pro Bowler, then it's an easy yes. But what if the player had a meh career? And which of the Rams select players would have been forfeit in order to make the trade a reality?

If the Rams had competed in the 2022 NFL Playoffs, or even if the Rams had the normal roster of 65+ players as they entered the 2023 NFL Draft, then taking a chance to upgrade a specific position on the roster makes a great deal of sense. But the Rams entered the 2023 NFL Draft with a shopping list of nine players just to fill their 53 man roster, plus 16 more players just to fill their practice squad.

Under those conditions, I am content that the Rams were unable to trade up, and stood pat at 36. In my opinion, it's better for the team to have more good players rather than have fewer players but one very good player. Let me know in the comments section what you think? Are you disappointed that the Rams were unable to trade up? Or are you content with the Rams draft class as it?

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