Around the league in 32 plays
By Ben Almquist
It’s Friday, Addicts, and that means it’s time for another round up of all the NFL news and rumors from the past week. It wasn’t a busy week, but it was certainly an interesting one. There were three storylines that really just jumped out, and honestly it was tough to choose a Lead Story for this week.
More from Kansas City Chiefs News
- Former Chiefs cornerback in legal trouble in Las Vegas
- Chiefs news: Travis Kelce wants to host fan ‘chug-off’ in Germany
- KC Chiefs send Dave Merritt to NFL coaching accelerator
- Creed Humphrey lands on PFF’s Top 25 Under 25 list
- Tyreek Hill, Davante Adams prove themselves away from star quarterbacks
To be honest, the Will Smith situation should be the top story of the week. However, with the case still developing and new evidence and statements coming out almost every day, I felt it was best to hold off on going in depth for now. I’ll wait for the facts to come out before forming a narrative.
That means the story of the week is all about the draft. We were treated to a big trade this week, and it obviously will have some major implications on all the mock drafts that were scheduled to come out…
Lead Story: Rams Are Going To Get Their Quarterback
It was no secret that the Titans were looking to shop the #1 overall pick. They had every reason to, and were in a great position to do it. Having taken Marcus Mariota in 2014, they didn’t need a quarterback so automatically they could feel free to listen to offers. However, the real strength of their position was the fact that the top rated player in this draft, by many scouts/analysts, was Ole Miss left tackle Laremy Tunsil. The Titans could certainly have felt great about selecting him with that top pick. So there was no real pressure to make a trade.
However, the eventual trade partner was a bit of a surprise. Many people figured that either the Eagles or 49ers would be the team to trade into the top spot. There had even been rumors that Philly was making an offer.
But the Rams, drafting at No. 15, were never really talked about. Jumping from the middle of the draft to the top spot would seem to be not worth what the team would have to give up. And it didn’t seem likely that the Titans would want to move down that far. Yet, here we are. So how did the teams fare in this deal?
- Tennessee Titans get – 1st rd (#15), 2nd rd (#43), 2nd rd (#45), 3rd rd (#75), 2017 1st rd, and 2017 3rd rd
- Los Angeles Rams get – 1st rd (#1), 4th rd (#113), and 6th rd (#177)
I get the reasoning for the Titans to make this deal. Adding three picks on day two is a sound strategy given the talent to be had in this year’s class. However, I can’t help but feel that they pulled the trigger way too soon. The draft is still almost two weeks away. And on top of that, if the rumors are true, they already had Philadelphia inquiring about the top pick.
And given the situation with the 49ers trying to trade Kaepernick, it would make sense that they would likely be getting involved soon as well. If I had to venture a guess as to the reasoning, I would assume that the Titans were worried that the Rams would make a deal with the Browns instead, knowing that Tennessee had no intentions of taking a quarterback. That would put the Eagles in a spot where they might not feel the pressure to trade up.
For the Rams, kudos. I think they got off tremendously cheap to move up for a guy they clearly wanted. And on top of that, some of the cost is mitigated by getting the extra 4th and 6th round picks. There has been a lot of discussion as to which of the quarterbacks they’ll be taking. I’m putting my bet on Jared Goff.
Wentz is a good prospect, but taking an FCS player #1 overall is a risky proposition. Trading up to take him? You had better be beyond sure. Also, bringing in the California kid in the first season that the team will be playing in LA should also help generate some buzz with the new fan base and media.
Of course, the real story here will soon be whether or not Goff (or Wentz) is worth it. Robert Griffin III, Mark Sanchez, Blaine Gabbert, Tim Tebow, Josh Freeman, and Johnny Manziel were all quarterbacks that teams traded up to get in recent years. The track record is not good.