Los Angeles Rams: Motives are clear after trading down in 2019 NFL Draft

The Los Angeles Rams did what many people thought they were going to do and traded down, out of the first round, in the 2019 NFL Draft.

With the 31st overall selection in the 2019 NFL Draft, the Atlanta Falcons, not the Los Angeles Rams, selected Kaleb McGary, an offensive tackle from the University of Washington.

The Los Angeles Rams traded out of the first round to allow the Atlanta Falcons to make this selection. In the trade, the Rams sent over the 31st and 203rd pick to Atlanta in exchange for the 45th and 79th pick in the draft.

The Rams now have four draft picks in the first 100 picks and only had to trade down 14 spots to do so.

This also marks the third draft in a row in which the Rams did not make a first-round selection. The team was without its first-round selection in 2017 because of the Jared Goff trade and was without a first-round selection in 2018 because of the Brandin Cooks trade.

This trade was much different from those two. Instead of trading the pick for someone established or to move up in the draft, the team did the smart thing and traded down.

It truly was a great move by general manager Les Snead to get that extra pick, especially considering if there was nobody the Rams loved with the 31st overall pick that they could not get with the 45th overall pick.

And while we could go through the countless possibilities of players that the Rams could select on the second day of the draft, we instead decided to look at the bigger picture. This trade told us what the Rams’ motives are in this draft, motives that were rather predictable beforehand.

The Rams are trying to add youth to a roster that desperately needs it and has several holes that need to start being patched this year. This is a two-year process for the Rams, this is the first act.

If the Rams want to contend past the 2019 season then the front office is going to have to add depth on the offensive line as well as at cornerback. Linebacker is another area of need as well, but not as large as offensive line and corner.

Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters have not been as good as advertised prior to playing for the Rams and with both contracts expiring, there is a chance that neither are on the team in 2020. With little cap space room, the chances of re-signing Peters especially seems slim, unless it is a smaller deal.

If the Rams did not start addressing the cornerback position now then 2020 could have hit the team like a ton of bricks and left them completely unprepared.

The same can be said for the offensive line. This is an offensive line that is now without Rodger Saffold and John Sullivan and the team’s left tackle, Andrew Whitworth, is only getting older and is in the last year of his contract.

The line is certainly talented enough to be good this year but if the front office neglected it until it became an issue than it would have been a massive issue.

Just that one extra pick in the first 100 picks is going to help the team address both problems at the same time without compromising one or another. Now, the team could realistically pick up two offensive linemen, a corner and a linebacker in the top-100 picks.

And that would leave way for next year, where the Rams could then select another offensive lineman and cornerback to complete the two-year cycle.

That is a much better plan than drafting someone with the 31st overall pick, hoping they make a massive impact alone and then go 63 more selections until the next pick.

This was the best-case scenario for the Los Angeles Rams and Les Snead absolutely nailed it. I guarantee the Rams target the offensive line and the cornerbacks on day two.