The unexpected trade that changed the entire LA Rams draft strategy

When Los Angeles Rams GM Les Snead emphasized the need for the team to address a quarterback successor for Matthew Stafford, I don't know if he meant to tell a bold-faced lie. Clearly, the Rams having settled for no rookie quarterbacks either during or after the draft suggests that it was all a smokescreen, a scarecrow tactic to throw off other NFL teams and confuse them about the Rams' true intentions.

And yet, the flow of the 2025 NFL Draft was not so chaotic that the Rams were forced to regroup midstream. Yes, the New York Giants traded back into Round 1 unexpectedly, prying the 25th overall pick from the clutches of the Minnesota Vikings to select Mississippi QB Jaxson Dart. To get that pick, the trade was as follows:

• Giants get: Vikings Round 1 pick (25th overall)
• Vikings get: Giants Round 2 pick (34th overall), Giants Round 3 pick (99th overall), and Giants 2026 Round 3 pick

Clearly, the Giants wanted to land Jaxson Dart before the Rams stepped up to the podium. But Dart was just the second quarterback selected in this draft class. If the Rams truly wanted to land a quarterback, there were many more options available. Louisville QB Tyler Shough was still available. So too was Alabama QB Jalen Milroe. And Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders was available until the middle of Day 3.

If the Rams wanted a quarterback in 2025, they had ample opportunity to select one. That was not how the Rams handled their Round 1 selection. You see, after failing to trade up early in the draft, the Rams chose not to stand pat at 26. Instead, the Rams agreed to trade their Round 1 pick to the Atlanta Falcons, and the story of how that trade took place was shared by Rams' GM Les Snead on the Pat McAfee Show:

The Atlanta Falcons were already sold on edge rusher James Pearce Jr. out of Tennessee. But when Georgia edge rusher Jalon Walker was on the board at 15, the Falcons pulled the trigger on him instead. That left the Falcons with a board that had James Pearce Jr. as a Round 1 value, but still on the board when the Rams stepped up to the podium at 26.

The perceived value of Pearce prompted the Falcons to throw the kitchen sink at the Rams, and it worked:

So what did that trade look like? It involved multiple picks.

• Falcons got: Rams Round 1 pick (26th overall), Rams Round 3 pick (101st overall)
• Rams got: Falcons Round 2 pick (46th overall), Falcons Round 7 pick (242nd overall), and Falcons 2026 Round 1 pick

It was an unexpected coup for the LA Rams. After all, the Falcons have not exactly been tearing up the league recently. And that Falcons pick, if it sticks with tradition, is almost certainly going to be a Top 10 pick of the 2026 NFL Draft. That is a much better location in the draft to aim for a young franchise rookie quarterback. On top of that, the 2026 NFL Draft is projected to have some pretty impressive young quarterbacks available, including:

• Texas quarterback Arch Manning
• LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier
• Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik
• South Carolina quarterback Lanoris Sellers
• Penn State quarterback Drew Allar
• UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava

Now armed with two Round 1 picks, the Rms have plenty of firepower to move up in Round 1, even if the team wins Super Bowl LX.

With one trade, the team transformed from shopping for a future franchise quarterback from the dinked and dinged sale cart to the top-shelf talent from next year's draft. And yes, the way-too-early 2026 NFL mock drafts are already noticing. And they are not the only ones to do so:

Now armed with two Round 1 picks, the Rams are one of the top teams in terms of 2026 NFL Draft capital, per Tankathon.com. Of course, the actual order of picks will depend on how teams do in the 2025 NFL season. But you can bet that Rams fans will quietly root against the Falcons this season. After all, it's nothing personal. It's just good business sense.

So, how did the picks turn out for both teams so far? For the Atlanta Falcons, they got

• Round 1 (26th overall) - Tennessee edge rusher James Pearce Jr
• Round 3 (101st overall) - TRADE to 96 (via Philadelphia Eagles) for Notre Dame WR Xavier Watts. Eagles also received a 2025 Round 5 pick.

The Los Angeles Rams selected:

• Round 2 (46th overall) - Oregon tight end Terrance Ferguson
• Round 7 (242nd overall) - Pittsburgh wide receiver Konata Mumpfield
• 2026 NFL Draft Round 1 - (TBD)

Was it all worth it? It's not easy or common to acquire another NFL team's Round 1 pick. Now armed with the Falcons' Round 1 pick, the Rams are only one of two NFL teams with multiple picks in Round 1 of the 2026 NFL Draft. It was that bounty of picks in next year's draft that likely altered the team's strategy from drafting a rookie quarterback until 2026.

Ultimately, that is why the Rams locked down the quarterback room so well before the draft. Now the team is in much better shape to land the right quarterback for the job.

As always, thanks for reading.

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