Rams land Matthew Stafford's successor in latest Mel Kiper Jr. mock draft

Heading into the 2023 campaign, the Los Angeles Rams were afterthoughts of sorts. They were a team that had won just five games the season prior and had a roster that on paper appeared to be the worst by far in an extremely talented NFC West.

Thankfully the games are not played on paper, and the Rams were one of the surprise teams of the 2023 season. Not only did they finish with a winning record, but they made the postseason and played the Lions really tough before eventually losing by one point in the Wild Card Round.

As encouraging as that season was, concerns about their future are very real. Sean McVay's future is constantly in flux. Aaron Donald just retired. Perhaps most importantly, Matthew Stafford is 36 years old and has been banged up in recent years.

Stafford remains an elite quarterback, but the question of how long he can be productive and healthy is one worth asking. With that in mind, ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. has the Rams selecting his successor in his latest 2024 NFL mock draft.

Rams select Matthew Stafford's successor in latest mock draft

With the No. 19 selection in the first round, Kiper has the Rams selecting Laiatu Latu, a linebacker from UCLA. That pick makes sense with Aaron Donald announcing his sudden retirement. It's what Kiper has the Rams doing in the second round that's really interesting.

Rather than stick with the No. 52 pick, Kiper has the Rams trading up to No. 37 overall in a deal with the Chargers. In this deal, they'd send three draft picks to the Chargers in order to select their QB of the future, Michael Penix Jr.

When it comes to the future, that's murky at best at the quarterback position. Stafford is under contract through 2026, but it remains to be seen how many elite healthy years he has left. They did just sign Jimmy Garoppolo, but he inked a one-year deal. They also drafted Stetson Bennett IV last season, but he didn't play and was a fourth-round selection, not a guy they view as their future.

Kiper cites Stafford's injury woes and the lack of a clear solution past 2024 under center for the Rams. Drafting Penix would change that.

"Penix could be the future franchise signal-caller for coach Sean McVay and the Rams. He is accurate to every level of the field and is a great decision-maker. He had 67 touchdown passes and 19 interceptions in his two seasons at Washington."

Penix is coming off an excellent season in which he completed 65.4% of his passes for 4,903 yards and 36 touchdowns compared to 11 interceptions in 15 games for Washington. He helped lead the Huskies to the National Championship game, but they fell short against No. 1 Michigan.

Penix is not seen in the same class as guys like Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels, and even J.J. McCarthy by most, but he's a guy who could go sometime late in the first round or early in the second. It'd take a trade-up, but a deal like the one Kiper outlined makes sense. They can select a game-changing pass rusher who can help them win now, while also selecting a player who could lead the team in the next couple of seasons. Penix sitting and learning under Stafford with McVay helping as well can only help his development.