LOS ANGELES — The NFL season is just a few weeks away and a handful of teams have true championship aspirations.
While some of the teams are looking to get the best out of their talent available on its roster to hopefully sneak into the playoffs.
The Rams have the look of one of those teams or maybe worse. The Rams were one of the favorites last season after winning the Super Bowl in 2022 but this year they are a team looking to ‘reset’ its roster.
“People use the word ‘rebuild’ but this is an opportunity for us to reset ourselves,” said Rams coach Sean McVay. “Continue to re-establish and let’s go ahead and see what this build looks like.”
The best way to fully reset a roster you ask, is to get younger and build through the draft.
General manager Les Snead spoke earlier this offseason about a possible rebuild and it sounded like that’s what the team is looking to do.
“We did take a step back in terms of how we acquire players and things like that,” said Snead back in May. “We said ‘OK, maybe this year it’s best to utilize our draft picks on younger players so we can grow and evolve. We can utilize this year to engineer a healthier cap situation so that when we do feel an opportunity to strike, to attack to be aggressive, we’re definitely capable and have the ability to do that.’”
I know former Jets coach Herm Edwards gave us the great postgame speech stating “you play to win the game”. But not all teams can win a championship and whether they like it or not they are building for the future.
So I am saying it right now: the Rams should TANK for the first overall pick and draft USC quarterback, Caleb Williams.
Williams, the reigning Heisman trophy winner is Mahomes-like with his abilities and the type of talent that can lead a franchise like the team’s current starting quarterback Matthew Stafford did for many years with the Detroit Lions.
Williams would be staying in Los Angeles with a lot of fan support if he were to join the Rams. The Trojans star QB will be competing for a chance to win another Heisman Trophy and trying to lead SC to its first national title since 2004 this college football season.
With so many great young QBs in the league today. The Rams would be able to add their names to the list of teams who has a young stud at the most important position in football.
I know that Stafford is there this year but he is aging and is closer to the end of his days as starter. Especially after dealing with an elbow injury that hindered him most of last year.
So, with the addition of Williams and top of the round picks in next year’s draft the Rams would be closer to winning another Super Bowl compared to staying with their veterans. The Rams own a pick in each round of next year’s draft.
The team they defeated in the Super Bowl two years ago the Cincinnati Bengals are a great example on how tanking for the top pick and selecting the top QB can work in your favor.
Cincinnati has played in the AFC Championship game or beyond in two of the three season since the team selected quarterback Joe Burrow first overall in 2020. Drafting Burrow and adding young pieces around him through the draft the past few season has helped place the Bengals in the top echelon of the AFC.
The blueprint has been placed right in front of Los Angeles’ eyes and so the plan should be set. Use this year to develop the young players and suffer some defeats this season that can later lead to wins in the future by positioning themselves for the first pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and selecting Caleb Williams from the University of Southern California.
