Why Rams won't regret not prying 10th overall pick from Jets GM Joe Douglas

Alabama Edge Dallas Turner

The LA Rams entered the 2024 NFL Draft prioritizing adding pass rush talent to the roster. But, realistically speaking, top-tier outside linebackers are frequently among the first rookie prospects to be selected in any give NFL draft. In the 2023 NFL Draft, Edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. was the third overall player selected off the board. In the 2022 NFL Draft, Edge rushers Travon Walker, Aidan Hutchinson, and Kayvon Thibodeaux were selected first, second, and fifth off the board respectively.

So it was entirely logical for any draft projections to expect some edge rushers in the 2024 NFL Draft to come off the board early. As such, the need to add a top-tier outside linebacker in this draft would almost certainly necessitate trading up to acquire.

In most draft projections, Alabama edge rusher Dallas Turner was a clear Round 1 prospect, but not projected as lofty as either Florida State's edge rusher Jared Verse or UCLA's edge rusher Laiatu Laut. While that did not mean that the Rams would be able to stand pat to add him to the roster, his selection seemed far more realistic to the team that entered this draft with the 19th overall pick.

In the strategy of planning for the NFL draft, much of the most intensive yet rewarding work is scenario building, attempting to track who may come off the draft board at which position so the team has a realistic idea about who would be on the board when they stepped up to make their selection. I expected Turner to be a realistic target for the team in Round 1, if for no other reason than the belief that other edge rusher prospects would be chosen sooner.

But let's consider another edge rusher: