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

Did Rams do worse or better than originally planned?

The past two drafts have two things in common. In both drafts, the team entertained ideas to move up to select a tight end to add to this roster. In both cases, the actual improvement to the roster is relatively negligible compared to making the trade and selection. But thankfully, in both cases, the Rams were thwarted by potential trade partners turning a deaf ear to the team's offer.

In both the 2023 and 2024 NFL Drafts, the front office was forced to 'make do,' with the players on the draft board when the Rams stepped up to the podium. We know how incredibly effective the team was in the 2023 NFL Draft simply from the remarkable rookie seasons of so many talented players.

I suspect that the same level of production will show up by rookies this season. Too optimistic for everyone's taste? Perhaps. But it does not take a soothsayer to recognize that the front office deployed an out-of-the-box draft strategy of doubling down at selecting two key contributors from one of college football's top defenses:

If we break down draft picks into their fundamental parts, we recognize that each selection in an NFL draft holds characteristics that are quite similar to scratch-off lottery tickets. The more tickets that you scratch, the better are your odds of getting a winner. So in any scenario that requires surrendering multiple valuable picks to select one rookie prospect, the team making that one pick has to be 100 percent convinced that the rookie is at least a Pro Bowl level in the NFL.

Can we truly say that with conviction over TE Brock Bowers or DT Byron Murphy II?