Did the Rams Attempt to Trade For the Wrong Receiver?

The Los Angeles Rams made calls for Tetairoa McMillian and Emeka Egbuka, but perhaps it was Matthew Golden that should have been traded for

Wide receiver Matthew Golden of Texas poses with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Green Bay Packers President and CEO Mark Murphy after being selected by the Green Bay Packers during the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft at Lambeau Field on April 24, 2025, in Green Bay. | Mark Hoffman / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

During the 2025 NFL Draft, the Rams wanted a wide receiver. While they ended up drafting Konata Mumpfield in the seventh round, it's been confirmed that the Rams attempted to trade up for Arizona Wildcats wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan.

Regardless on if the Rams did or didn't, it's the call they didn't make that could come back to bite them as in Fox Sports Rob Rang's latest exercise of equating a rookie's potential to the path of a franchise legend, he compared Green Bay Packers and Texas Longhorns wide receiver Matthew Golden to Rams' wide receiver Davante Adams.

"With all due respect to the current Packers’ receiving corps, no one truly stepped up to replace Davante Adams’ production, leaving a massive target share potentially available for Golden to exploit," wrote Rang. The fastest offensive player at this year’s combine, Golden has the 4.29-second speed to take full advantage of Jordan Love’s big arm and defenses crowding the line of scrimmage to slow Josh Jacobs."

I think Rang is onto something. While Luther Burden III remained the receiver I wanted the Rams to acquire, Golden was my WR1 entering the draft as he possesses several All-Pro potential traits while being a force for Texas.

It should also be noted that Golden was drafted by the Packers, a team that runs a McVay-based offense with Matt LaFleur at the helm. LaFleur was Sean McVay's first offensive coordinator and brother of current Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur.

Why the Rams made calls for McMillian and not Golden continues to bewilder me, considering both men have similar strengths, and I also felt Golden had both a more polished product and a higher ceiling.

What's better than one Davante Adams? Two of them. Having Adams and Golden flanking the offense would have allowed Puka Nacua to primarily play in the slot while allowing McVay to deploy Tutu Atwell in situations that play to his strengths.

Nacua could have been used in motion to help diagnose coverages, run the jet sweep, or set up somother type of play.

However, the Rams never made that call and eventually walked away with Terrance Ferguson instead. Only time will tell if that was the correct move.

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