Rams Needed Big Splash in LA, So They Made a Dumb Trade and Overpaid For the Choice of Goff or Wentz
By Jason McIntyre
That’s got to be the reaction around the NFL this morning in the wake of the Rams giving up six draft picks in exchange for three. It’s a mind-numbingly bad decision by Los Angeles, who ironically are now on the other end of a crazy, lopsided trade involving a high pick and a QB. Back in 2012, the Redskins gave up three #1 picks and a 2nd round pick to jump up to the No. 2 spot and draft Robert Griffin. Four years later, and he’s gone.
On a small level, I understand why the Rams did it. They’ve got to sell tickets in LA. They’ve got to create buzz. They’ve got to do something splashy – that’s the Los Angeles way. They’re going to be on Hard Knocks. And now, they’ve mortgaged the future to have their pick of which QB they’d like to take first.
A lot of credit here goes to the Cleveland Browns. They sold the idea of taking a QB 2nd overall very hard. They were so convincing that the Rams bought it, and decided to give up their 1st and 3rd round picks in 2017 so they could control the decision: Will it be Jared Goff or Carson Wentz? They’ve got plenty of time to decide. The draft is in two weeks.
I’d say I feel bad for Rams fans, but are there any?
My guess, two weeks out, is that it’ll be Jared Goff to the Rams, but that’s probably because I think he’ll be the better pro than Carson Wentz.
The big winner here is the Titans, and it’s not close. They’ve got a franchise QB in Marcus Mariota and nothing else, so why not acquire as many picks as possible?