Monday saw Von Miller traded from the Denver Broncos to the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams will send two second-day 2022 NFL Draft picks to the Broncos in return. The Rams will send a second and third-round selection to the Broncos, leaving them with just one pick in the first two days of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Von Miller traded to the Los Angeles Rams
Miller had sat his final game with the Broncos after being inactive with an ankle injury. However, that was not enough to prevent the Rams from making the trade. Miller will head to Los Angeles to join up with his new teammates ahead of the Rams’ Sunday Night Football game with the Tennessee Titans.
Additionally, the Broncos will pick up $9 million of remaining salary, leaving the Rams to pay just $0.7 million in 2021. Miller is set to become a free agent after the 2021 season and would likely have been heading out of Denver anyway. Now, Denver assures themselves of getting two picks in return, at least one higher than the highest compensatory pick that could have received.
Miller’s addition bolsters an already talented defense
Miller will join an already talent-laden defense headlined by Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey. Miller will likely slot into the starting role currently occupied by Terrell Lewis. Lewis has 3 sacks on the season but has not managed to get a QB hit in the last two games. Miller and Lewis will make a strong rotational pairing opposite Leonard Floyd.
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Miller has also had a quiet few weeks. He was inactive in Week 8, but prior to that, he had not registered a sack since Week 4. However, in the first four games, he had 4.5 sacks. On the season, Miller has 9 QB hits and 16 pressures.
The Rams will be hoping he rolls back the years
Miller is coming off a tough couple of years. He had 8 sacks in 15 games in 2019 before missing all of last year through injury.
However, the Rams will be hoping that lining up on a defensive front that includes Donald will give Miller the opportunity to roll back the years to when he was a perennial double-digit sack artist.
The Rams have now traded their first, second, third, fourth, and sixth-round picks in the upcoming draft. The Rams are currently projected to have four of fourth and sixth-round compensatory picks from their prospective free agents.
They also still have their original fifth and seventh-round picks and a seventh-round selection from the Dolphins. Their only pick in the first two days is the third-round selection they received when the Lions hired Brad Holmes as general manager.
Sitting at 7-1, the Rams are currently behind the Cardinals on the head-to-head tie-breaker. but are essentially tied for the number one overall seed in the conference in terms of record. The Rams have made it quite clear that 2021 is Super Bowl or bust, and this trade is another step towards that.