The most recent move made by the Los Angeles Rams ahead of the NFL Draft was trading Allen Robinson to the Pittsburgh Steelers and swapping seventh-round draft picks. While Sean McVay and Les Snead had kept their cards close, it was apparent that the team had been trying to trade him for some time.
And when the trade was completed, Robinson hinted that he felt the Rams did not utilize him properly during his lone season with the team. He amassed just 33 catches for 339 yards and three touchdowns in 10 games before missing the remaining seven games of the season with an injury.
According to McVay, Robinson’s assessment may not be far off. The Rams head coach spoke about the trade with the Steelers and what the plan may have been had Robinson still been on the Rams, via Stu Jackson of theRams.com:
“If for whatever reason it didn’t go down that way, we were going to continue to pour into him, try to do a better job of utilizing him in a fashion that was in alignment with his skill sets, that I think you always try to do as you move forward and you try to be able to learn from previous things,” McVay said. “That was going to be our focus and concentration as a coaching staff and really up until last week, that was the mindset and mentality that we had taken where, in my mind, I thought we had kind of moved on, where, hey, we’re moving forward with Allen, and then the Pittsburgh thing kind of came together quickly. He was a pro about it, and I wish him nothing but the best.”
The Rams struggled to do just about anything offensively in 2022. This was largely due to the lack of a consistent offensive line, but Robinson and Matthew Stafford never developing an obvious on-field chemistry also played a role.
It’s very possible that with another year in the Rams system, Robinson may have found a way to be more effective and McVay could have figured out a way to utilize his skillsets. But at the price tag, the Rams clearly felt that moving on was the better option.
Rams open to trading back in Draft
The Rams are gearing up to make their first pick of the 2023 NFL Draft with the No. 36 overall selection. That is the fifth pick of the second round and their highest pick since they took Jared Goff with the first overall pick in 2016.
But Snead is keeping all options open, saying that a trade back is in the cards. With some first-round talents still available, it’s possible that the price for high second-rounders may be more than in an average year.
