LOS ANGELES – One night after Kobe dropped 60 points in the last game of his illustrious career and the defending champion Golden State Warriors set a new NBA regular-season record for wins, the Los Angeles Rams made their presence known in the California sports scene thanks to a big splash of their own.
In a town known for drama, big splashes and creating blockbusters, the Los Angeles Rams—back home in SoCal after 20 years in the Midwest—pulled the trigger in trading up from No.15 to No.1 in a deal with the Tennessee Titans.
In doing so, Los Angeles becomes the third team in recent NFL history to trade up to the top overall pick for a quarterback, as the Atlanta Falcons did so twice in 1975 for Steve Bartkowski and Michael Vick in 2001 and the Indianapolis Colts in 1990 for Jeff George.
In the case of the Rams, hopefully the results are much better, as the three aforementioned quarterbacks have a combined three playoff wins.
Per the below is the breakdown of the trade.
The Rams receive:
- Titans 2016 first-round pick (1st overall)
- Fourth round pick (136th overall)
- Sixth-round pick (177th overall)
The Titans receive:
- Rams 2016 first-round-pick (15th overall)
- Second-round pick (43rd overall)
- Second-round pick (45th overall)
- Third-round pick (76th overall)
- 2017 first-round pick
- 2017 third-round pick
Thanks to such a bold and ground-shaking move that gave the Titans six of the top 76 picks in the 2016 NFL Draft, Tennessee’s first-year general manager Jon Robinson announced himself as a baller and dealer within the NFL executive circles.
One year after picking NFL Offensive Rookie Of The Year in former Georgia running back Todd Gurley, Los Angeles is now in position to build the right way in landing its future face of the franchise in either Jared Goff or Carson Wentz.
While there is some debate within NFL circles and all over social media as to who the Rams will take in Goff or Wentz, I fell that based on the division that they play in which features three physical defenses in the form of Arizona, Seattle and a rebuilding San Francisco, Wentz makes the most sense for Los Angeles.
While L.A. would be tempted to take fellow California native in Goff and help formally establish their brand in Southern California, Wentz also makes the most sense based on how the Rams have been built under head coach Jeff Fisher in having a solid run game and tough defense.
Unlike Goff, who played in a spread offense at Berkeley, Wentz has played in a NFL pro-style offense in lining up under center, is mobile enough to extend plays and has quality arm strength.
Goff or Wentz, make no mistake, that is not the name of some high-end law firm, but the two players who will undoubtedly shape the 2016 NFL Draft in more ways than one.