Recapping the best and worst LA Rams roster moves made in 2023

The Bad

When the LA Rams drafted Florida wide receiver Van Jefferson with the 57th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, the buzz over the team's new offensive weapon was pretty positive. Standing 6-foot-1 and weighing 200 pounds, Jefferson was a unique blend of size, speed, and route running that Head Coach Sean McVay seemed to be looking for ever since the team parted ways with WR Brandin Cooks.

And he appeared to be right on schedule to fulfill that promise in 2021, when he hauled in 50 of 89 passes for 802 yards and six touchdowns. It was his surprising spike in production that helped carry the team to a Super Bowl LVI appearance and victory.

But his fortunes reversed course, and when the team needed him to step up early in 2023, he simply did not answer the bell. In five games for the Rams, he caught just eight of 15 passes for 108 yards. And when the team learned that WR Cooper Kupp would be healthy enough to return to the lineup, the team and player agreed that a trade would be better than sitting Jefferson on the bench.

What makes this trade bad is the abysmal return that the Rams agreed to for a player once viewed to have the potential to become a 1,000 yard receiver. The Rams agreed to trade Jefferson for a 2025 sixth-round pick. That was bad enough, but adding insult to injury, the Atlanta Falcons insisted on recouping a seventh-round pick from the very same draft.

It was the equivalent to a bag of chips and a six-pack of soda.