PFF wants Rams to trade up for a QB to ‘shake things up’

Rumors of the Rams drafting a quarterback are heating up and PFF wants it to happen

We only have to make it through four more days before finally knowing once and for all if Les Snead’s first first round pick is going to be the same as his last first round pick: A quarterback. The Los Angeles Rams have four quarterbacks on the roster already but as we get closer to the draft the chatter of Snead picking a quarterback, if not trading up for one, continues to ramp up. That’s probably just noise but with Snead’s track record, you never know for sure.

On his The GM Shuffle podcast this week, former NFL GM Michael Lombardi thinks the perfect time to pick a quarterback is before you need a quarterback:

“Sean McVay needs a quarterback, why not take one? If they lose Stafford, they’re going to be in a tough spot. The best time to take one is when no one thinks you’re going to take one. When Sean McVay takes one, he’ll develop him.”

Lombardi isn’t alone in thinking the Rams could and possibly should get aggressive in adding a rookie quarterback on Thursday. In a post for PFF, writer Gordon McGuinness sees a trade into the top-10 as a perfect way to “shake things up” on Thursday:

In 2016, the Rams sent the No. 15 overall pick, two second-round picks and a third-round pick, along with 2017 first- and third-round picks, to move up to No. 1 overall with the Tennessee Titans and select Jared Goff. The Rams also received a fourth- and a sixth-round pick from the Titans in the 2016 draft. In 2021, Los Angeles traded Goff, a third-round pick and first-round draft picks in 2022 and 2023 to acquire quarterback Matthew Stafford from the Detroit Lions.

So, while people wonder who the Rams might select with their first first-round pick since 2016, I’m wondering whether they will attempt to move up for one of the top four quarterbacks in this draft class, should one fall out of the top five. Los Angeles with head coach Sean McVay would be the perfect landing spot for any rookie signal-caller, and they could sit behind Matthew Stafford, who even at 35 years old still ranked fourth among quarterbacks with an 86.0 PFF passing grade in 2023.

Between Snead’s off-ball connection to Bo Nix and rumors of the team wanting a quarterback to link with Sean McVay’s legacy, the thought of the Rams picking a quarterback is as prevalent as ever. Lombardi noted in his podcast that this is not necessarily a great year to pick QB5 or QB6 in the first round, if it ever is, but that the first round is relatively weak at so many positions that it’s no bigger of a risk than taking a defensive player. Michael Penix and Nix might not have consensus first round grades but both could go in the first round anyway because teams have less to lose with an expected “weak” first round class outside of the top-15.

The Rams might not pick this high again for years, and trading up into the top-10 for QB4 instead of waiting on QB5 or QB6 could be Snead and McVay’s last best opportunity. But as all things at this time of year, it could just be noise.