Which players are worth taking at the 26th overall pick for the Rams?
With less than two weeks to go until the first round of the NFL Draft, it seems pretty clear at this point that the best path for the Los Angeles Rams is to trade back. However, a trade back still has to make sense. It has to be for more reasons than just to accumulate more draft picks. The last thing that the Rams want to do is miss out on taking an impact player or trade themselves out of a talent-rich tier.
At the end of the day, it all comes down to how the board falls on April 24. If there is a math-changing player available when the Rams are on the clock with the 26th overall pick, they should absolutely take that player. While it’s a long wait until their next pick at 90, the Rams front office has shown that they have no issues remaining patient and letting the draft come to them.
Again, most can agree that a trade down is likely the best option. However, if there are certain players available, the Rams may want to stand pat and simply take that player. Here are five players worth taking with the 26th overall pick. As a note, this list isn’t going to include obvious top-15 selections i.e. Tyler Warren.
1. TE Colston Loveland, Michigan
When it comes to taking a player with the 26th overall pick and staying put at that spot, it comes down to being able to change the math in some facet of the game. That’s exactly what Colston Loveland does for the Rams offense. There’s a reason why Sean McVay has wanted to add a receiving tight end to the offense over the last two years. Being able to play out of 12 personnel and have the defense match in base with this group of playmakers is a huge advantage.
The Rams moved on from Cooper Kupp in the offseason. Adding Loveland is like replacing Kupp, but as a tight end. The Michigan tight end is one of the best route runners in the class and like Kupp, has an understanding of coverages to settle in the soft spots in zone. Loveland is such a fluid athlete and at just 21 years old, this is a young player that the Rams can build around in the offense. Receiving tight ends like Brock Bowers, Kyle Pitts, and Sam LaPorta have made immediate impacts in recent years. Pitts has fallen off, but still had 1,000 yards as a rookie. It’s possible that Loveland could do the same.
2. S Malaki Starks, Georgia
Again, it’s all about changing the math with a player at the 26th overall pick. As it stands, it’s hard to find a player that changes the math more for the Rams than Georgia safety Malaki Starks. I wrote in depth earlier this week about how much adding a safety like Starks would change the Rams defense.
“Shula utilized Dime looks on defense at the highest rate in the NFL. Those packages require just one linebacker on the field at a given time. A player like Barron or Starks essentially becomes the extension of the linebacker unit.”
The safety position has become an important one in Shula’s scheme. Adding a versatile player to that group that can play multiple spots opens up a lot for what the Rams want to do on the defensive side of the ball. It would go against how the Rams have typically addressed the safety position. With that said, the Rams also haven’t typically used their safeties in this fashion. Starks is more than just a safety. He can play two-high, single-high, in the box, or in the slot. He is a complete defensive back that opens up the playbook.
3. CB Jahdae Barron, Texas
In a similar fashion, Barron is similar to Starks in the sense that he can play anywhere in the secondary. While Barron is better fit inside at the nickel or at safety, he can play on the outside and hold his own there if needed. That shouldn’t be his full-time spot, but he can certainly do it.
Barron is a physical, versatile player in the secondary. The Rams haven’t had that type of player in the secondary since Jalen Ramsey was traded to the Miami Dolphins. This is a secondary that needs and currently lacks playmakers. They need players that can make tackles in the open field. That’s exactly what Barron does and changes the math in the same way that Starks does.
4. QB Shedeur Sanders, Colorado
There is one quarterback that the Rams should consider taking with the 26th overall pick and his name isn’t Jaxson Dart. It’s hard to find a better fit for the Rams at quarterback in this class than Shedeur Sanders. The next closest may be Kyle McCord who lacks the upside of Sanders. While Sanders is projected to go in the top-10, there is a realistic possibility that he slides. If he gets past the Cleveland Browns and New Orleans Saints, the next team that would consider him is the Pittsburgh Steelers at 21. In the case that the Steelers pass on him, the Rams become a possibility.
Sanders may not be a mobile quarterback, but he certainly has the ability to escape pressure and make ‘wow’ plays out of structure. There’s some Joe Burrow to his game in that aspect. McVay’s offense requires a rhythmic passer that can throw with accuracy and stay on time. He shows good touch and anticipation on his throws and he doesn’t turn the ball over. This is a player that would benefit from sitting behind a quarterback like Stafford as the tools and mental processing are there. If he can continue to refine his game and get more confident in the pocket, Sanders gives a future post-Stafford.
5. WR Tet McMillan, Arizona
While it’s more likely that McMillan goes in the top-10 than falls to 26, it is still within the realm of possibility. In a recent mock draft by NFL Media’s Rhett Lewis, McMillan fell all the way to the Kansas City Chiefs at 31. That’s not a scenario that anybody wants to see and if he’s there at 26, the Rams need to sprint to the podium. As Matt Harmon from Reception Perception wrote,
“Even if teams are moving around their best receivers more than ever and X-receivers can be more sacrificial these days, a player who can legitimately win at that spot is still both valuable and becoming rarer. The fact that McMillan looks the part and executes as an X will make him a coveted option in this year’s draft. That alone could sell his case as the top player at the position for some teams across the NFL.”
McMillan may not fill an immediate need as the Rams just signed Davante Adams in free agency. At the same time, adding McMillan would allow Adams to play more in the slot and give the Rams that true, physical ‘x’ wide receiver on the outside. That type of player is one that the Rams have lacked in the McVay era. Again, with the 26th overall pick is about changing the math and McMillan does exactly that.
6. EDGE James Pearce Jr., Tennessee
The Rams may not necessarily have a need at edge. At the same time, you can never have too many pass rushers and adding a pass rusher of Pearce’s caliber, improves a strength and the identity of the defense. This was one of the best, young pass rushes in the NFL last season and adding Pearce to that group solidifies it.
Pearce is reminiscent of Chop Robinson from last year’s class, but he has production. He has an explosive first step and an impressive get-off at the snap. Pearce is the type of speed rusher that complements Jared Verse on the opposite side very well. He may be more of a designated pass rusher as a rookie. However, on 3rd-and-8, it’s hard to say that you would want to be the quarterback on the other side staring Verse, Pearce, Byron Young, Kobie Turner, and Braden Fiske in the face.
7. OT Joshua Simmons, Ohio State
The Rams need a future at the tackle position post-Rob Havenstein. It’s hard to look at players like Sanders, Pearce Jr., and Simmons and call them math-changing players when they would be backups or in a rotational role as rookies. However, if these players hit their peak, they are top-level players at their positions.
Had Simmons never suffered the injury to his Patella tendon, it’s very possible that he would have been the first or second offensive tackle off of the board. He would be in the same conversation as Will Campbell and Armand Membou. Simmons may be a swing tackle as a rookie, but in year two, he could slide in at right tackle and give the Rams a sturdy presence on that side of the offensive line.
