Los Angeles Rams: 2019 NFL Draft is immensely important for the future

The Los Angeles Rams are now looking towards the 2019 NFL Draft, which will shape the team’s future more than other years.

We all know that the NFL Draft is extremely important. The prospects that a team selects serve as the foundation for the years to come. A good showing in the draft can lead to some great things, a bad showing can be detrimental. Some years are more important than others for certain teams, which is the case for the Los Angeles Rams.

The Rams are entering the draft (assuming they do not trade away the pick) with the 31st overall pick. This is the first time since 2016 in which the Rams have a first-round pick altogether.

The team has no second-round pick, with the next selection not coming until the compensatory picks in the third round. It might not feel as if this draft is that important with no high pick and no second-round pick.

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And it is not going to be all that impactful right away. The team isn’t looking for a rookie impact like Saquon Barkley and Baker Mayfield had in their rookie seasons. The Rams will still be a playoff-caliber team with a bad showing in this year’s draft.

However, where this draft is important for the Rams is the long-term picture. On the surface, the team appears to be ready to contend for years to come; this is the same young, upstart team that shocked the NFL world in 2017, after all.

And while the team does have young stars such as Jared Goff, Aaron Donald and Todd Gurley, there is absolutely no guarantee that they will be a playoff team in three years. Sustaining a winning culture is hard in the NFL and that is why the New England Patriots are such a unicorn.

There are multiple reasons for this. First of all, the offensive line is getting older and is getting worse. This line was elite two years ago but has since lost some key pieces and has seen other key pieces get older. Finding at least one solid, above league-average lineman for the future is imperative for the Rams.

Second of all, the Rams have literally no cap space. Because of the large extensions to Gurley, Donald and Brandin Cooks, the team is in a bit of a financial tightrope. And while money will be freed up over the next two seasons, the team also has to deal with a Jared Goff extension after the 2020 season.

The best way to combat multiple massive contracts is to find solid young players that can legitimately help the team on their rookie deals, which is what made the Rams this successful to begin with.

Third, outside of those few core guys, the Los Angeles Rams do not have any long-term pieces, which is hard to find in the NFL. Eric Weddle and Clay Matthews are nothing more than filler options for the next two years and will only get worse and lose athleticism with age.

This is a crossroads for the Los Angeles Rams and it is these crossroads that Bill Belichick and the Patriots are so good at that make them sustainable. The team has to select pieces that can help now but that can also grow into legitimate players in the coming years.

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That is why the 2019 NFL Draft is so important. The 2020 and 2021 drafts will also play a pivotal role, but the 2019 NFL Draft starts that process for the Los Angeles Rams.

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