There was a time when L.A. Rams general manager Les Snead would have heard that Sauce Gardner was available for two first round picks and jumped on it, but this time the team showed self-control despite having the ammunition to do whatever they wanted at the deadline. The Rams ended up resting on their move last week to acquire Roger McCreary and will head into the second half without anymore trades.
This means that the Rams will have one of the best teams in the NFL this season and be among the teams with the most draft capital next year.
Not as much as the New York Jets, but still a lot.
After Tuesday’s deadline passed, the Jets ended up with a 2026 first round pick from the Colts for Gardner and a 2026 second round pick from the Cowboys for Quinnen Williams, in addition to first round picks from both of those teams in 2027.
The Jets are currently third in 2026 draft order, but could easily end up with the first pick next year.
As the draft order currently stands, the Jets would be getting a pick from the Colts that falls somewhere between 19-32, depending on how far Indianapolis goes in the playoffs. However, the Jets also have their own second round pick, sure to be right at the top, and a second rounder from the Cowboys that would be roughly in the mid-40s.
Because New York has so much 2027 draft capital already, they can move up from the Colts pick and pick twice in the top-10. Or the Jets might be waiting until 2027 to draft a quarterback.
The Cowboys were able to trade two first round picks because of their earlier Micah Parsons trade, as they own Green Bay’s first rounders in 2026 and 2027; Dallas traded the Packers 2026 pick to the Jets and will give up the higher of their two picks in 2027.
The Browns still own their own first round pick (slated to be 6th right now), as well as the Jaguars first round pick because of the Travis Hunter trade (Jacksonville is currently in the playoff seedings).
As JB Scott pointed out today, that makes four teams with multiple first round picks in 2026, including the Rams.
At 3-5, the Falcons currently hold the 11th pick in the draft, which belongs to the Rams in 2026. That would give the Rams their own pick, which again would be somewhere between 19-32, and a top-15 pick from Atlanta.
Snead could have thought about that time he traded two first round picks for Jalen Ramsey and surely did not regret it after winning the Super Bowl, but the GM was far more restrained this time around. Clearly the Rams have a plan in place for how to use those picks in 2026, whether it be to get a quarterback or simply address two needs, and that precluded L.A. from shipping off two picks for a 25-year-old cornerback who at one point was held in extremely high regard.
The fourth pick in the 2022 draft, Gardner was first-team All-Pro during his first two seasons in the NFL. He has missed a couple games with injury in the last two years and hasn’t been getting the same accolades. Gardner also only has three career interceptions. Obviously the Rams are confident enough in their outside options like Emmanuel Sanders and the eventual return of Darious Williams that they didn’t feel any sort of urgency to give up a 2026 first and a 2027 first for Gardner, even though we might have expected L.A. to make a splash as of a few years ago.
This regime instead desires tucking the picks in their pocket, not handing them over to someone else. Smart move.
Among the other big names traded on Tuesday were Williams, Trevor Penning (Chargers), Jakobi Meyers (Jaguars), and Rashid Shaheed (Seahawks).
Maybe the only one of those that would have made some sense for L.A. is Shaheed, who was traded to Seattle for a fourth and fifth round pick in 2026. The Rams may have benefited from a deep threat like Shaheed, but obviously are confident that Tutu Atwell will return when his IR stint is eligible to end and be of use to the offense when that happens.
So the Rams couldn’t have really done much at the deadline. Nothing except overpay.
Luckily for the fans and for the sake of the 2026 draft, Snead passed this time.
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