2018 NFL Draft: Biggest need for each team
By Conor Dorney
Los Angeles Rams: Linebacker
Just like their Los Angeles counterparts, the Rams will also be a team in need of finding a way to stop the run. To do that, general manager Les Snead could look to take an inside linebacker in the 2018 NFL Draft.
Other than the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Rams experienced perhaps the most exciting turnaround of any team in the NFL last season. Gone are the 7-9 days of Jeff Fisher and in are the youthful revitalization provided by head coach Sean McVay. While McVay was able to flip the script on the Rams’ stagnant offense, more work remains to be done on defense.
Les Snead has already had one of the most active offseasons of any GM in football, acquiring cornerbacks Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib, while trading away longtime Rams Robert Quinn and Alec Ogletree in separate trades. The additions of Talib and Peters help offset the loss of Trumaine Johnson via free agency, but there is now a good-sized hole at linebacker with the absence of Ogletree. It’s possible that the Rams like this linebacker class more than the cornerbacks, and could very well be prepared to take one early on in the 2018 draft.
The team would likely love to have Boise State’s Leighton Vander Esch, but he figures to be long gone by the time the Rams pick at 23. Alabama’s Rashaan Evans is also a distinct possibility, and the Rams may even feel it’s worth it to trade up for him if he falls into the late teen’s of the first round.
Aaron Donald and Todd Gurley both figure to have enormous pay days coming their way very soon (it wouldn’t surprise me if Donald becomes the highest-paid defensive player in football), so it’s important for Los Angeles to rack up young talent, particularly on defense, to build on their 2017 success.