Thursday night came and went without the Los Angeles Rams making a first-round pick … again. This is the third straight year the Rams have sat out Round 1, setting a franchise record in that regard.
Trading out of the first round shouldn’t have come as a surprise to anyone, given Les Snead’s desire to stockpile Day 2 and 3 picks in the past. Although the Rams didn’t add any additional selections, they did increase the value of their overall pool of picks.
And according to the trade value chart, they got the better end of the deal with the Falcons. Here’s how the points added up for the Falcons and Rams:
- Rams get No. 45 and 79 (645 points)
- Falcons get No. 31 and 203 (609.8 points)
We’re not nitpicking over five or 10 points here. That’s a difference of 35.2 points, which is the equivalent of a late fourth-round or early fifth-round pick. Realistically, the Rams should’ve had to give up No. 133 instead of the 203rd pick, which would’ve brought their point total to 639 instead of 609.8.
Now, teams have their own versions of the trade value chart and not all of them use it as the only way to weigh the value of picks, but it’s pretty obvious the Rams won this deal. Snead said after the first round that the Falcons had two players they were targeting with the Rams’ pick, so they were clearly content with overpaying to get Kaleb McGary, who they selected 31st overall.
The Rams were fortunate to come away with this haul of picks, even if they had to give up a sixth-rounder to make it happen.
