The 2024 NFL Draft is going to feel much different for the Los Angeles Rams than in previous years.

For starters, LA will have their first first-round pick since taking Jared Goff number one overall in 2016 (assuming Les Snead doesn’t trade back from 19). After plugging several holes in free agency, the roster is in solid shape and the Rams can truly target the best player available early in the draft. We’ve seen the team select players solely based on need even as recent as last year with Byron Young and then the year before with Logan Bruss at guard.

For the first time in a long while, the Rams are in a position to let the draft fall to them and look to come away with value instead of players at areas of need. This seems to be the position teams like in Baltimore Ravens and Los Angeles Chargers are in each year, and they perennially come away with prospects many assumed would be gone before what ended up being their actual draft slot: Derwin James, Kyle Hamilton, Tyler Linderbaum, Rashawn Slater, etc.

Which players could unexpectedly fall to Rams at #19?

We know Snead is a wheeler and dealer, and on some point during draft weekend we will see him move up or down the board. The Rams are equipped with 11 picks this year—a figure currently tied for most in the NFL. If Snead watches a player slip into the teens that many thought would be taken in the top 10, it wouldn’t be a shock to see the Rams move up for the opportunity to draft a difference maker.

Still, there are players each year that unexpectedly fall much lower than anticipated—and LA may be well-positioned at pick 19 to benefit.

Brock Bowers, TE

Could Bowers realistically be drafted in the top 10? Yes, of course.

Is it probable that he’s gone by pick 15 or so? That’s fair.

But Kyle Pitts was better regarded as a prospect and ended up being taken fourth overall by the Atlanta Falcons. Pitts eclipsed the 1,000 yards mark as a rookie before injuries and struggling quarterbacks hampered his effectiveness. This goes to show that the bar is incredibly high for tight ends that are drafted early, and unless you come away with a bonafide star the pick is probably destined to fail. It’s a risky proposition for general managers, and I could see many punt on such a risky decision.

If Bowers ends up in Sean McVay in Los Angeles, watch out because it would be fireworks.

Laiatu Latu, EDGE

Yes, I know Latu is generally being mocked to the middle or late first round and the consensus amongst the draft community is that he’s the second or third best edge rusher after Dallas Turner and possibly Jared Verse; however, I personally think Latu is the best defensive player in this class and is an elite edge prospect.

Sure, it’s fair to question his competition in college and he has a questionable injury history, but he’d be an impact player from day one in Los Angeles.

JJ McCarthy, QB

Nearly no one was talking about McCarthy being drafted as early as pick three or four two months ago, and his rise to the early first round has been meteoric. However, there’s a quarterback every year that we do this song and dance with—such as Will Levis who eventually fell to the second round to the Tennessee Titans last year—where the hype doesn’t meet the evaluation by NFL teams.

We know the Minnesota Vikings are deparate to trade up for a quarterback, as they tipped their hand by acquiring a second first-round pick. McCarthy could very well be their target if Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels are off the board; however, if the Washington Commanders take Daniels at two, would the Vikings move mountains to trade with the New England Patriots at three for Maye? That could make McCarthy the odd man out and start his slide down the draft board.

The Rams would be happy to let McCarthy, a young QB with all the tools in the world, sit behind Matthew Stafford for a year and maybe hand him the reigns in 2025. Stafford’s contract situation is curious at the least.

JJ McCarthy delivers a strong play fake and hits the corner-post WR for the TD #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/6vfFvp2P6A

— Matt Waldman (@MattWaldman) January 21, 2024