What will the LA Rams do with the 19th overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft?

Trade back

What motivates a team to trade back from an earlier pick in any draft to accept the risks inherent in making that pick or picks later in the draft? Either the original pick is

• Viewed as too valuable for the available prospects
• Worth more in the use of filling in gaps with other picks in later rounds
• Scheduled at a point when multiple prospects of similar value are present on the draft board

In the third scenario, the option to trade back is dependant on an offer to trade back far enough to acquire more picks, and yet not so far as to open the possibility of no longer finding valuable players on the board when the team returns to make the next pick.

In many simulations run by online NFL mock drafts, the Rams often have as many as eight or so players of various positions on the board when the team first appears at the podium to make the 19th overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft. Per the Drafttek draft value chart, the team could parlay a package of picks that keeps the team in Round 1 (albeit later in the round), while netting an additional pick in Round 3 or multiple picks in Round 4 or later.

That may make some sense to consider, as the team understands that NFL salaries are, for the most part, prescribed in Round 1. That means whether or not that player pans out on the football field, any rookie selected in Round 1 will be paid rather handsomely. By the same token, trading back is dependant on identifying and successfully negotiating with another NFL team, one interested in trading up.

The team may view trading back in Round 1 as the best value for the team with the pick, but if the need to trade back is based on filling the hole in Round 4, there are better picks to trade back from.