Rams trade first-round draft pick to Falcons: ‘Too good to be able to pass up’
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The Rams did not make a pick Thursday night in the first round of the NFL draft. But next year they will have the opportunity to make two.
That math worked just fine for general manager Les Snead and coach Sean McVay.
The Rams traded the 26th pick and a third-round pick to the Atlanta Falcons for a second-round pick and a seventh-round pick this year and a first-round pick next year.
That Snead, conducting his 14th draft, traded the late first-round pick was not a surprise. He almost annually trades back to acquire more draft capital. But the Falcons’ willingness to include a 2026 first-round pick was an unexpected bonus.
As expected, Miami quarterback Cam Ward was the first pick of the 2025 NFL draft, but Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders was not selected in the first round.
“We had a lot of offers,” Snead said, “but Atlanta’s value was the best for us.”
The Rams conducted the draft from the Los Angeles Fire Department Air Operations headquarters in Van Nuys. McVay said the Rams went into the night with trading out of the first round as the most likely scenario. Atlanta including the 2026 first-round pick made it “better than we anticipated,” he said.
By making the deal, the Rams delayed their first pick from No. 26 in the first round to No. 46 in the second.
“Looking at where our team is overall, the value that we were able to get, to be able to move back just 20 spots — felt like it was too good to be able to pass up,” McVay said.
As picks were announced from Green Bay, Wis., the only real drama for the Rams concerned whether a quarterback-needy team would approach the Rams with a deal, or if the Rams would keep the pick.
Snead acknowledged that the Rams attempted to trade up to select an unspecified player. According to reports, they were pursuing Arizona receiver Tetairoa McMillan, who was selected eighth by the Carolina Panthers.
“The value going up there, teams were asking too much, or more than we would do,” Snead said.
The Chargers gave coach Jim Harbaugh another run option, selecting North Carolina tailback Omarion Hampton with the No. 22 pick of the NFL draft.
With the Houston Texans set to pick at No. 25, the New York Giants traded up to select Mississippi quarterback Jaxson Dart. The Falcons then made their deal with the Rams to select Tennessee outside linebacker James Pearce Jr.
For the Rams, the mood at the end of the night was a stark contrast to last year.
That night the Rams were excited about drafting Jared Verse with the 19th pick, but their joy was tempered by a report that quarterback Matthew Stafford was seeking a contract adjustment.
That drama played out until the first day of training camp, when the Rams agreed to move up millions that Stafford had been due to receive this year.
The Rams averted another potential draft night buzzkill by agreeing to another adjustment for Stafford in February.
Servite becomes the first Southern Section school in more than 30 years to have two former players selected in the first round of the same NFL draft.
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