Should Rams still draft a quarterback after signing Jimmy Garoppolo?

Should quarterback be an option for the Rams on day two of the NFL Draft?

The Los Angeles Rams addressed the backup quarterback position by signing former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo in free agency. While Garoppolo doesn’t give off a lot of excitement, he is a quarterback that knows the system and has proven that he can win games with the right supporting case.

The issue with Garoppolo is that not only is he past his prime, he doesn’t give the Rams much of a future at the position. Stetson Bennett may never have been a future starting quarterback, at least there was some future at the position in a post-Stafford world.

With Aaron Donald retiring, the Rams need to starting thinking about a life post-Stafford and be ready for it. Depending on his this season goes, there is a chance that Stafford could decide to walk away to spend more time with his family. Stafford is 36 years old. That’s how old Matt Ryan was in his second to last season in the NFL.

The Garoppolo signing puts a band-aid on what is a much larger issue and he’s set to be suspended for the first two games of the season. It’s fair to ask whether or not the Rams should still be considering a quarterback in rounds two and three to give a future behind Stafford. With Donald’s sudden retirement, the Rams weren’t left with much a plan to replace him — not that they were ever going to. Turner remains the Donald replacement at this point in time.

At the quarterback position, it would be smart to draft someone and let them sit for a season or two while Stafford is on the final few years of his contract.

One player that the Rams could consider in the second round in Michael Penix. Ted Nguyen of The Athletic recently did a breakdown of Penix and his ceiling. Said Nguyen,

“My loose stylistic comparison for Penix is left-handed Phillip Rivers. Both quarterbacks love to attack deep and are surprisingly accurate with an unorthodox three-quarters release…Like Rivers, Penix could be a statue in the pocket. He doesn’t need a lot of room to make throws and can make difficult throws with pressure in his face or while getting hit…An important stat that has proven to translate to the next level well is pressure-to-sack rate. Penix has the third lowest pressure-to-sack rate (7.6 percent) among qualifying passers…Overall, Penix has hard traits to teach, including arm talent and controlled aggressiveness, but he has some concerning flaws that don’t typically improve at the next level…That type of quarterback can win a lot of games in the league, but it may not be one you draft early in the first round.

It’s possible that Penix is selected in the back-half of the first-round or isn’t available when the Rams are on the clock at 52. Still, he may be a player to consider at that spot if the Rams want to prioritize having an heir ready for Stafford.

Penix is 23 and will be 24 going into his rookie season. It is worth noting that Rivers sat his first two years in the NFL and was 23 as a rookie. Drafting Penix would give the Rams a two-year plan to compete with Stafford which is line with the quarterback’s contract expires.

Drafting a quarterback in the second or third round may not be a popular option as that player wouldn’t help the Rams immediately. However, part of the draft is also selecting players for the future and could be part of the core group in 2-3 years. That’s where drafting a quarterback on day two still fits into the team-build. The Rams could also select a quarterback later in the draft in the fifth or sixth round, but the chances of those players panning out are much slimmer.

With the Jimmy Garoppolo signing, selecting a quarterback may be more unlikely than it was a month ago. However, it is something that should still be considered, even if it means having to carry three quarterbacks on the roster.