Even though they didn’t have a first-round pick, the Los Angeles Rams were able to add some much-needed young talent in the 2021 NFL Draft, including seven picks in Rounds 4-7 on Day 3 after some trades to add more picks.
The first of the seven picks was spent on Texas A&M defensive lineman Bobby Brown, who was selected with the No. 117 overall pick in the fourth round.
Brown should help ease the loss of Michael Brockers, who has been a key clog in the middle of the Rams’ defensive line for many years. While Brown isn’t known for his pass-rushing, his 6’4″, 321-pound frame should help clog running lanes alongside Aaron Donald and the rest of the defensive line.
The Rams then selected Central Arkansas cornerback Robert Rochell with the 130th pick in the fourth round. After losing both Troy Hill and John Johnson III from their secondary, the Rams had a big need at corner and Rochell is a prospect that while raw, has a very high ceiling.
L.A. used its next pick to go with an athletic tight end/receiver in Jacob Harris out of UCF, taking him at No. 141 overall in the fourth round.
Although the Rams just drafted Brycen Hopkins a year ago, he did not see the field much during his rookie season. Harris, who had 30 receptions for 539 yards and eight touchdowns last season, should compete with him for backup tight end reps behind Tyler Higbee after the departure of Gerald Everett.
The Rams’ next pick didn’t come until No. 174 overall in the fourth round, and they used it on Northwestern defensive end Earnest Brown IV.
Teams can never use too many pass rushers, and after losing both Morgan Fox and Samson Ebukam in free agency, Brown could get an opportunity to see some time on the field right away.
Perhaps the Rams’ most surprising pick was Maryland running back Jake Funk at 233 overall in the seventh round. Funk has played in just 10 games over the last three seasons due to two torn ACLs in the same knee, which is why he slipped all the way to the seventh round.
If Funk is able to stay healthy then he could potentially see time on special teams while also providing running back depth to a team that lost Malcolm Brown in free agency.
Another surprising pick was Notre Dame receiver Ben Skowronek at No. 249 overall in the seventh round. Skowronek is a big-bodied receiver, which the Rams are sorely lacking. They had already used a second-round pick on Tutu Atwell and also drafted Harris though, so many questioned the need for another receiver.
And finally, the Rams used their last pick at No. 252 overall on Concordia-St. Paul outside linebacker Chris Garrett.
While Garrett played at a Division II school, there is no doubting the production as he had 14 sacks and 20.5 tackles for loss in 2019 and 16.5 sacks and 19 tackles for loss in 2018.
Notably absent from the Rams’ 2021 draft class was offensive lineman as L.A. did not take a single one. The offensive line was arguably their biggest need coming into the draft, but it appears Les Snead and Sean McVay are comfortable with the internal options they already had.
