Getty Image / Steph Chambers
The Los Angeles Rams had quite the Super Bowl hangover in 2022. A roster that was set up to make a big run in 2021 by loading up on veterans did just that by winning the Super Bowl. But, they got the downside of that in a big way in 2022, as players got hurt, and the ones that didn’t suffered poor seasons. The Rams went 5-12 last year, and are now looking at another rebuild.
One position they will absolutely have to look at filling for the future is at quarterback. Acquiring former Lions star quarterback Matthew Stafford was a stroke of genius that won them the Super Bowl. But, Stafford, who is in the middle of a 4-year, $160 million contract, is 35 years old. NFL quarterbacks are playing longer than ever now, but Stafford took an absolute beating in his years in Detroit, and seems to be breaking down.
Unfortunately for the Los Angeles Rams, they do not have a first-round pick, as they traded that pick to the Lions for Stafford. But, they could still look to select a quarterback later in the draft, and it appears they are looking to do just that.
Here are more details, courtesy of Pro Football Talk.
Los Angeles has 11 draft picks, but none until the 36th overall pick in the second round. It is expected to use one on a quarterback.
“We’ve definitely been intentional about the second tier, right, and those players that would probably be beyond the [top] four, even the fifth one now [from] Tennessee [Hendon Hooker ] that’s talked about a lot going early, going before us, things like that,” Rams General Manager Les Snead said. “But no different than every year.”
Alabama’s Bryce Young , Kentucky’s Will Levis , Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud , Florida’s Anthony Richardson and possibly Hooker will hear their names called before the Rams turn comes to select.
Fresno State’s Jake Haener , Purdue’s Aidan O’Connell, BYU’s Jaren Hall , Stanford’s Tanner McKee and Houston ’s Clayton Tune are in the next group of quarterbacks, and one of them could end up in Los Angeles.
If I were the Los Angeles Rams, I would not spend draft capital on a quarterback that in all likelihood isn’t that good, and would instead wait until next year when the top of the draft has a lot of good quarterbacks like Caleb Williams and Drake Maye. And, the Rams actually do have their first round pick next year.