The Rams may have addressed their most pressing 2021 priorities well before the draft, agreeing ahead of free agency to the deal that netted them longtime Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford. They were also a bit shortchanged over the weekend thanks to their previous blockbuster deal for cornerback Jalen Ramsey, entering the draft with just seven total picks -- and none in the first round. With their rookie class finalized, however, it's time to review what they got right and what they got wrong, specifically what they still need to address and one area they definitely aced:
What the Rams got right
They're all in on Stafford and a short-term championship window, and they doubled down on that approach by prioritizing even more weaponry for the new QB, specifically in the form of skill players like wide receiver Tutu Atwell (second round), fellow wideout Jacob Harris (fourth) and running back Jake Funk (seventh). Atwell may have been a slight reach on Day Two considering most scouts had pegged him as more of a third- or fourth-round target because of his unprecedented small size, but his electric play-making ability serves as a cherry on top of an already loaded offensive lineup. Harris is more of a project, but he's got the physical tools to be something down the road. And Funk feels like a future Sean McVay favorite as a hard-nosed complement on the ground.
Is Atwell's skill set redundant in an offense that also added DeSean Jackson this offseason? Maybe, but Jackson has also failed to stay healthy for years. Let him work behind guys like Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods, and Stafford might have himself the finest pass-catching corps of his career. Los Angeles is clearly in win-now mode, so its commitment to getting Stafford new toys is admirable. Couple the luxury picks with legitimate investments at cornerback (fourth-rounder Robert Rochell) and linebacker (third-rounder Ernest Jones), and they made out OK at almost every position of need. As it stands, they're set to enter 2021 with at least one solid starter in every position group, although one hole remains relatively glaring ...
What the Rams still need to do
For all the splashy support of Stafford, did the Rams not think at least one of their picks could've been spent up front? It's one thing to prioritize weapons over linemen when you've still got familiar faces in the trenches, from Andrew Whitworth to Austin Corbett to Rob Havenstein. How quickly we forget, though, that part of the reason Jared Goff is no longer in town is because he couldn't hold up behind the Rams' line. Of course, some of that was his own doing, but it's not as if L.A. couldn't have used added depth or competition. One of the keys to enabling Stafford's widely expected breakout here is keeping him upright, all the way into a potential playoff trip.
Seventh-rounders are seventh-rounders, but did the Rams really need to draft a third WR instead of taking a swing on a project at tackle? L.A. got some good value despite the early pick of Atwell, finding potential starters/gems in Rochell and Harris. But there's a reason they ranked dead last on Ryan Wilson's rundown of team draft classes: They reached a handful of times and failed to once address that front. Whether it's via trade or free agency, they'd be smart to explore summer additions to the line, if only to give Stafford some added comfort going into his first season -- an underrated high-pressure one -- as a Ram.
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May 07, 2021 at 05:17PM
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2021 NFL Draft: What the Rams got right, including help for Matthew Stafford, and what they still need to do - CBS Sports
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