With Will Levis and Hendon Hooker available, do LA Rams draft a QB?

When the LA Rams step up to make their first selection of the 2023 NFL Draft, they will have some tough choices to make. This is a team that needs help everywhere on the roster. From offensive line to defensive line to secondary to offensive weapons to special team specialist, the Rams need them.

The Rams roster, at 44 players, also needs a backup quarterback. If you have been paying attention, the Rams currently only have veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford on the roster, and he was injured and out for half of the 2022 NFL season. So whether we see the value in doing so or not, the LA Rams do have plenty of logical justification to do so.

Need more incentives? Two rookie quarterback prospects who entered the 2023 NFL Draft and were thought to be ripe for a Round 1 selection, Kentucky quarterback Will Levis and Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker, are still on the board. While there is no such thing as a sure thing, the LA Rams may not be in a position to add a first-round talent at the quarterback position for a very long time.

Did anyone expect Hendon Hooker to make it through Day 1 of the 2023 NFL Draft? Did anyone expect Will Levis to last through the 20th pick?

Odds seem to be good for Rams selecting Levis

Which of the two top available quarterbacks do you want the Rams to draft? While some are strongly opposed to doing so, selecting a talented quarterback in 2023 does fit the LA Rams overriding philosophy of building a strong foundation for the future. And there is almost no expectation that a rookie quarterback moves the needle for the Rams during the 2023 NFL season.

Right now, the LA Rams hold the runner-up spot in terms of the best odds to draft Kentucky QB, Will Levis:

The LA Rams have not invested a draft pick into the quarterback position for a rookie since the team traded up for the 2016 NFL Draft top pick and selected quarterback Jared Goff. Goff did lead the team to Super Bowl LIII three years later, so that worked out well enough.

A first round quarterback added to the LA Rams roster now would be, should be, ready to go in 2024. That takes some of the pressure off the team to perform poorly to ensure that they have a strong chance of drafting a successor to Matthew Stafford.

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. If the Rams have the chance to add either Will Levis or Hendon Hooker and are as high on either rookie quarterback as some reports have indicated, they really should pull the trigger. Why? The Rams have a great chance to add a Top-5 quarterback in this draft. even if the Rams end up with a record of 5-12 next season, they may not have a similar opportunity.