After swinging yet another picks-for-player trade early Wednesday morning — this time for former first-round running back Sony Michel — the Los Angeles Rams have a championship window.
The worry is, that window might be the size of the portholes on a Boeing 777.
Rams going all in trading for RB Sony Michel
The Rams, who sent third-day draft compensation to New England for a one-year rental at running back, seem to have decided that the best way to beat the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers is to join them.
Both teams have gone all in this year. But at least the Buccaneers have young stars that should be in Tampa after Tom Brady is gone.
The Rams, meanwhile, have doubled and tripled down on their current roster when others might have pulled back and thought of the future.
Cam Akers lost with an Achilles tear (which could be career-defining)? Let’s go get Michel, who has his own injury history.
High draft picks? Who needs them? Not when we have names.
The Rams have one of the most top-heavy rosters in recent memory.
Los Angeles opting for big names, not draft capital
Their stars have supernova brightness. Matthew Stafford, Aaron Donald, and Jalen Ramsey are as good as any nucleus in the NFL.
But the back end of the Rams’ roster is littered with names that only the geekiest draft geek would recognize.
Los Angeles began the day with the NFL’s youngest roster, but that’s a reflection of the team carrying 29 rookie or first-year players. They’ve opted for quantity over quality in the draft, taking 10 players in Rounds 2 through 4 the past two years.
In other words, 2021 will provide a case study in whether depth and experience still matter in the NFL. For this gamble to work, a bunch of players like Ernest Jones — a promising rookie linebacker taken in the second round — need to hit.
The Rams are poised to go at least seven years without a first-round pick — a staggering stretch that wouldn’t be allowed in the NBA.
Their run of trades began in 2016 when Los Angeles gave up a haul for the right to take Jared Goff first overall. But the trade-picks-for-veterans craze didn’t begin until Sean McVay took over in 2017.
The Rams parted with a first-rounder for Brandin Cooks in 2018. They gave up first-rounders in 2020 and 2021 for Ramsey. And they’ve surrendered their next two No. 1s for Stafford.
Barring a trade, the Rams won’t pick in the first round again until April 2024 — when Ramsey will be 29 and Stafford will be 36.
Donald, meanwhile, is already over 30. Put another way, the Rams’ best players are currently in their prime — but probably won’t be for much longer.
Is it Super Bowl or bust for the Rams in 2021?
The Rams’ cap situation isn’t going to get much better, even with the expected inflation in the next few years. They’re already over the 2022 cap and don’t have a lot of easy, consequence-free ways to create space.
Put together, and you can understand the organizational urgency.
We applaud McVay and Les Snead for realizing that and trying to capitalize on it.
L.A. was never going to win a Super Bowl with Goff at quarterback. Trading for Stafford gave the Rams a chance. They mortgaged the future (again) to get him.
So seen through that lens, what’s another $50,000 line of credit on a $1 million home? (The Rams sent the equivalent of a fourth-round pick to New England for Michel, who’s in the final year of his rookie contract.)
Rams fans (not to mention the people who run the organization) just better hope there’s not a crash.