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Rams are Going All In by Trading for Titans No. 1 Pick

The Rams traded up for No.1. I think Wentz gets the nod.

Well, there goes all my top-of-the-round draft analysis. Luckily enough for me that’s all in the rearview as I head toward the bottom of the first round.

Thursday morning the Los Angeles Rams finalized a trade with the Tennessee Titans for the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft, with little doubt the Rams are targeting a quarterback. That quarterback will either be Carson Wentz or Jared Goff and unless one of those guys can turn into a Andrew Luck-style franchise quarterback, there doesn’t seem any way this deal is worth it.

To get that No. 1 pick the Rams surrendered their own first-rounder (No. 15) pick, both their second round picks (No. 43 and No. 45) and their third round pick (No. 76). In effect the Rams have traded four potential starters for a rookie quarterback that might not be ready to start on day one.

But, as the game show hosts say, “that’s not all!” The Rams gave up next year’s first-round pick, which could easily be in the teens and a third-round pick.

In addition to the top pick, the Rams get the Titans fourth-round pick and their sixth round pick. And that’s it.

There’s little doubt, at least to me, that the Rams are drafting North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz. Wentz played in a pro-style offense, was under center and has a stronger arm than Goff. The good news for Wentz, at least, is he’s got tremendous skill position talent around him at running back with Todd Gurley and wide receiver with Tavon Austin, Brian Quick and Kenny Britt. Their defense is, of course, outstanding. But maybe it’s Goff? This could be a cats and dogs living together scenario. No one knows anything.

The ramifications, if you’ll forgive the pun, for this trade will ripple all the way through the draft. The Titans weren’t going to take a quarterback so the Cleveland Browns, with the second pick, were sitting pretty with their pick of any guy they want. More and more that looked like it was going to be Wentz. Now he’s all but already off the board. Does Hue Jackson like Goff enough? Do other teams like Goff so much that they’ll be willing the wheel and deal with the Browns for that pick? My guess is Cleveland is very open for business and their phones are ringing off the hook today.

This move also impacts the San Francisco 49ers. I had them down as drafting Goff if the Browns took Wentz and I was far from alone in that. It was pretty much a done deal for everybody, especially after they whiffed in taking another star quarterback from Cal, Aaron Rodgers, so many years ago. Now they’re sitting there with Blaine Gabbert and Colin Kaepernick as their QBs and only one of those guys even wants to be in the building.

Casek Keenum, who thought he’d be the Rams starter this season is back to the bench. Nick Foles, who was really their best quarterback by a pretty wide margin, is probably now on the trading block. The Broncos need to grab him off that block as fast as they can, which will change the dynamics of the Ryan Fitzpatrick negotiations with the New York Jets.

The other issue, and I feel like it’s a problem, is that Jeff Fisher feels like he has some job security. This is the final year of his contract and if Fisher really felt like he was fighting for his life, he wouldn’t draft a rookie quarterback. He thinks he’s getting some kind of extension when, in four seasons, he hasn’t once even delivered a .500 record. So this move means he’s probably right.

Now that the Rams have traded away three starters that could have easily been wide receiver Laquan Treadwell, center Ryan Kelly, tight end Hunter Henry, a 2017 No. 1 and No. 3 they’ll need to hit the free agency market hard to make up for it. They’re probably going to sign safety Donte Whitner, but they need to look for help and depth all over.

The Rams need pretty much exactly what they would have drafted in those top three rounds. Help in the middle of the offensive line, a wide receiver, a tight end and a cornerback. Another defensive end and defensive tackle wouldn’t hurt either.

So who should they target? At tight end the choice is easy; Owen Daniels. He’s a productive weapon in the passing game and has spent the last few seasons as a mercenary, signing one-year deals. At wideout, there are a few guys I would look at, but I’d definitely bring Wes Welker back and think long and hard about adding Greg Jennings or Roddy White. Another mercenary at the corner position wouldn’t hurt either with Antonio Cromartie.

But the first guy I would call today is New England defensive tackle Dominique Easley. I’d offer him a similar deal as Nick Fairley got last season to be a back-up in the rotation. Easley has been banged up, but he’s a star when he’s been on the field and playing fewer snaps behind Aaron Donald and Michael Brockers could really let him unleash his potential.

HBO has to be thrilled now, even more than before. With the Rams as the Hard Knocks team in their first year in Los Angeles, they’ve added the drama of the top pick in the draft and a young potential star quarterback to feature. No matter what mixed emotions the rest of us have about this deal, there’s no question that NFL Films is flying high.

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Written by Adam Greene

Adam Greene is a writer and photographer based out of East Tennessee. His work has appeared on Cracked.com, in USA Today, the Associated Press, the Chicago Cubs Vineline Magazine, AskMen.com and many other publications.

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