As reported as a done deal by ESPN reporter this morning, just three weeks after he was reported to have inked a 3-year, $89.7 million contract extension deal with the Arizona Cardinals, it was confirmed this morning by ESPN that the franchise running back for the Arizona Cardinals has officially paid the Arizona Cardinals $50.4 million in cash for his contract to be terminated with immediate effect in favor of him to ink a 7-year blockbuster deal with the Los Angeles Rams. As the NFL confirmed too, it was confirmed that the franchise running back inked the deal after his conference meeting with the Los Angeles Rams this morning, but unfortunately…

The free agency period has seen a lot of players shift across the NFL. Now that some teams may have filled up positions of need through free agency, their draft pick may have changed when it comes time to select their rookie.

 

The Los Angeles Rams have the 26th round pick in next year’s draft, and their name has been connected to various prospects through multiple mock drafts. Recently, they were linked to a defensive prospect that would boost them in the trenches.

Last month, I published an article where I discussed a mock draft that saw the Rams trade up for tight end Colston Loveland. Now that some things have been shaken up due to free agency, the likelihood of the Rams drafting a tight end is increased.

For starters, the Rams made many changes to their roster, but their starting tight end remains the same. The projected starter is Tyler Higbee, who is good when he’s healthy, but he’s coming off an injured season and is 32 years old.

The only other tight end on the roster for the Rams is Colby Parkinson, who is a solid tight end but has very little passing upside. He’s more beneficial in sets where the tight end is used to block, or at least that’s how he’s been used up to this point.

The Rams’ Super Bowl window is in the next two years with Matthew Stafford, and they went out to get Davante Adams to maximize their chances to win another Super Bowl with Stafford. The one thing that’s missing from their offense is a young tight end who can be another dominant target for Stafford to throw to.

The Denver Broncos have the 20th pick in the upcoming NFL draft, and in many mock drafts, they were projected to take a tight end because they need one. They went out to get Evan Engram, which decreases the likelihood of them drafting a tight end.

That’s one less team ahead of the Rams that won’t select a tight end, which increases the chances that a premier tight end prospect falls in the laps of Sean McVay and the Rams. They could still go another direction with their pick, but now at least they have a better chance if they want to draft their tight end of the future.