The Los Angeles Rams draft prospects took a hit in the 2016 NFL Draft after they reached up—some would argue overreached—to the No. 1 spot to take what they hoped was a franchise quarterback.
If that strategy hurt them last year, it may help them in 2017.
The jury still is out on Jared Goff and the likelihood of him becoming the force the Rams need at QB, but most draft analysts agreed that neither Goff nor quarterback Carson Wentz, whom the Philadelphia Eagles traded up to select with the No. 2 pick overall, was the best NFL prospect in last year’s draft.
Now that they’re staring at a 2017 NFL draft without a first-round selection (thanks to the Goff acquisition), the Rams draft prospects may not be as meager if the other NFL teams needing a quarterback make the same overvalue judgment of this year’s crop of quarterbacks.
Simply put, the more teams that select a quarterback higher in the draft, the better chance of the Rams getting better-quality players with their picks. If Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer, whom ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. currently projects as a third-round pick (No. 104 overall) to the Kansas City Chiefs, gets a bump in value next week before the draft and prompts a team to take him among the first 36 picks, that means there’s an extra top-36 talent that will be available to the Rams when they make their first selection in the second round with the No. 37 overall pick.
In fact, another ESPN.com story on Kiper’s draft preferences lists Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes as one of his favorite prospects this year. If a team needing a quarterback, and there are ample, thinks they better take Mahomes before someone else agrees with Kiper, that improves his draft status. And improves the Rams draft prospects.
Los Angeles has to get the best value it can out of its limited choices in this year’s draft.
The 49ers, Cardinals, Giants, Saints, Chiefs, Chargers, Steelers, Ravens, Browns, Jets, Texans and Jaguars either have questions at quarterback going into the 2017 season or have a quarterback that will be 33 years or older either before or during the season. A rush to grab available quarterbacks will help the Rams in that capacity.
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