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If the Los Angeles Rams are trying to throw everyone off with their plans in the draft, they’re doing a good job of it. At least Sean McVay is.
No team is going to reveal exactly which prospects or positions they’re targeting in the draft and oftentimes, they put out smoke screens in the weeks leading up to the big event so they can come away with the guys they truly want.
This year, the Rams are either targeting two of the top quarterbacks in the class or they’re pretending to be interested. This week, Adam Schefter reported that the Rams have spent “considerable time” with Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart in the pre-draft process.
Dart is a potential first-round pick and could fall to the Rams at No. 26 if the Steelers don’t take him five spots earlier.
Then on Wednesday, Jordan Schultz reported the Rams will have Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe in for a pre-draft visit. Milroe is more of a Day 2 prospect but Los Angeles could have its eye on him in Round 3 or in the second round if it trades back from No. 26.
Dart and Milroe are two of the top five quarterback prospects in this class, so it’s not as if they’re sixth-round talents. We’re talking top-100 players who will require a premium pick. It shouldn’t be a surprise that the Rams are showing interest in two quarterbacks, but what’s confusing is the fact that McVay said he hasn’t studied the incoming QBs much.
“I think that’s unlikely. I’ll be honest with you, I haven’t done a whole lot of work on the quarterbacks,” McVay said. “I feel really good about where our quarterback room is, even though we’re not naïve to the fact that Matthew’s hopefully got a couple more years that he wants to play but he’s also earned the right to say, ‘After this year, I’m going to go ahead and hang them up.’ But I'm hopeful that’s not the case, but I haven’t done enough work to really have an educated opinion on that. That’s not something I would see us going – but maybe not, huh?”
So which is it? Are the Rams meeting with these quarterbacks to throw off the scent? Or are they actually interested in taking one despite what McVay says? Either way, something isn’t adding up.
Rams GM Les Snead said recently that the team is “open” to drafting a quarterback but they won’t reach for one. He also knows there will be teams more desperate for a quarterback than the Rams, so it could open the door for a trade down the board.
"If the right guy fell to No. 26, and maybe he’s the right guy for another team, they might want to move into the first round [and] draft that guy,” Snead said. “So maybe that is better for the Rams than picking that ‘right’ guy. That’s how to honestly answer that question. And then to be honest about the dishonesty, if we were really looking at a QB at No. 26, we would probably say an answer like that.”
A few weeks earlier, Snead sang a little bit of a different tune. He acknowledged that the Rams have to find a future quarterback “ASAP,” though acquiring the right one is difficult. It sounds like the Rams would love to find a successor sooner than later in order to let him learn from Matthew Stafford, but it’s not always easy when you’re picking at the end of the first round.
"We probably would approach it ASAP. I do think part of the equation that's the hardest part of that equation is, it's one thing to identify QB, it's another to actually be able to acquire him,” Snead said in March. “Let's say we did and that person could learn under Matthew, that's probably only beneficial. Two things about that equation. Even if we identified someone, sometimes it's hard to acquire them and then you get into, OK, wait a minute. We do have Matthew and we want to chase 'special,’ whatever special may be so maybe it's best at that moment to draft another position player and keep going that way. You're always balancing those two things but finding the next QB, that one is easier said than done. I think we've seen that over the course of history, the Green Bay Packers have done a nice job."
It's possible Snead and the front office have been doing their due diligence on quarterbacks, even if McVay hasn’t watched much film on them. It’s unlikely, but it’s possible. In all likelihood, though, the Rams probably are interested in players such as Dart and Milroe. McVay is likely just trying to throw everyone off.
As we get closer to the draft, smoke screens and lies from teams tend to become more common. It’s their actions that usually tell the story – things like pro day meetings, top-30 visits and formal interviews at the combine.
It shouldn’t surprise anyone if the Rams do wind up taking Dart at No. 26 or Milroe in the second or third round. It wouldn’t make every fan happy, but the team knows it needs to find another franchise quarterback soon so taking one in 2025 is logical.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: 2025 NFL draft: Will LA Rams take a QB early?
Continue reading...
No team is going to reveal exactly which prospects or positions they’re targeting in the draft and oftentimes, they put out smoke screens in the weeks leading up to the big event so they can come away with the guys they truly want.
This year, the Rams are either targeting two of the top quarterbacks in the class or they’re pretending to be interested. This week, Adam Schefter reported that the Rams have spent “considerable time” with Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart in the pre-draft process.
Dart is a potential first-round pick and could fall to the Rams at No. 26 if the Steelers don’t take him five spots earlier.
Then on Wednesday, Jordan Schultz reported the Rams will have Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe in for a pre-draft visit. Milroe is more of a Day 2 prospect but Los Angeles could have its eye on him in Round 3 or in the second round if it trades back from No. 26.
Dart and Milroe are two of the top five quarterback prospects in this class, so it’s not as if they’re sixth-round talents. We’re talking top-100 players who will require a premium pick. It shouldn’t be a surprise that the Rams are showing interest in two quarterbacks, but what’s confusing is the fact that McVay said he hasn’t studied the incoming QBs much.
“I think that’s unlikely. I’ll be honest with you, I haven’t done a whole lot of work on the quarterbacks,” McVay said. “I feel really good about where our quarterback room is, even though we’re not naïve to the fact that Matthew’s hopefully got a couple more years that he wants to play but he’s also earned the right to say, ‘After this year, I’m going to go ahead and hang them up.’ But I'm hopeful that’s not the case, but I haven’t done enough work to really have an educated opinion on that. That’s not something I would see us going – but maybe not, huh?”
So which is it? Are the Rams meeting with these quarterbacks to throw off the scent? Or are they actually interested in taking one despite what McVay says? Either way, something isn’t adding up.
Rams GM Les Snead said recently that the team is “open” to drafting a quarterback but they won’t reach for one. He also knows there will be teams more desperate for a quarterback than the Rams, so it could open the door for a trade down the board.
"If the right guy fell to No. 26, and maybe he’s the right guy for another team, they might want to move into the first round [and] draft that guy,” Snead said. “So maybe that is better for the Rams than picking that ‘right’ guy. That’s how to honestly answer that question. And then to be honest about the dishonesty, if we were really looking at a QB at No. 26, we would probably say an answer like that.”
A few weeks earlier, Snead sang a little bit of a different tune. He acknowledged that the Rams have to find a future quarterback “ASAP,” though acquiring the right one is difficult. It sounds like the Rams would love to find a successor sooner than later in order to let him learn from Matthew Stafford, but it’s not always easy when you’re picking at the end of the first round.
"We probably would approach it ASAP. I do think part of the equation that's the hardest part of that equation is, it's one thing to identify QB, it's another to actually be able to acquire him,” Snead said in March. “Let's say we did and that person could learn under Matthew, that's probably only beneficial. Two things about that equation. Even if we identified someone, sometimes it's hard to acquire them and then you get into, OK, wait a minute. We do have Matthew and we want to chase 'special,’ whatever special may be so maybe it's best at that moment to draft another position player and keep going that way. You're always balancing those two things but finding the next QB, that one is easier said than done. I think we've seen that over the course of history, the Green Bay Packers have done a nice job."
It's possible Snead and the front office have been doing their due diligence on quarterbacks, even if McVay hasn’t watched much film on them. It’s unlikely, but it’s possible. In all likelihood, though, the Rams probably are interested in players such as Dart and Milroe. McVay is likely just trying to throw everyone off.
As we get closer to the draft, smoke screens and lies from teams tend to become more common. It’s their actions that usually tell the story – things like pro day meetings, top-30 visits and formal interviews at the combine.
It shouldn’t surprise anyone if the Rams do wind up taking Dart at No. 26 or Milroe in the second or third round. It wouldn’t make every fan happy, but the team knows it needs to find another franchise quarterback soon so taking one in 2025 is logical.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: 2025 NFL draft: Will LA Rams take a QB early?
Continue reading...
