Rams Eyeing Allen Robinson Replacement in Round 2?
The 2023 NFL Draft is just a few days away and the anticipation is growing more and more. However, the Los Angeles Rams are one of a handful of teams that will have to wait to join the fun.
For the seventh-straight year, the Rams do not have their first-round pick in 2023, this time due to the Matthew Stafford trade in 2021. While the Rams gave up picks in the mid-late first round in previous years, they are giving up the No. 6 overall pick this time around. Missing out on a potential star rookie especially hurts for a team that went 5-12 in 2022.
That said, just because the Rams don't have that pick doesn't mean they can't find stars elsewhere. They still have nine total picks, including an early second-rounder at No. 36, so they have plenty of chances to find impact players.
In fact, a recent mock draft has the Rams landing a star receiver that Los Angeles football fans should be very familiar with. In Pro Football Network's latest seven-round mock draft, the Rams land USC standout Jordan Addison at No. 36 overall.
"With holes all over the roster, the Rams can easily justify going in any direction here," Pro Football Network's Ian Valentino writes. "Trading Allen Robinson to free up cap room also opens playing time. Jordan Addison gets to stay near his collegiate roots and can make a Day 1 impact."
The Rams do have plenty of needs to address, and wide receiver is definitely one of them. Cooper Kupp is a star, but the depth chart behind him isn't great. Adding another receiver could help take some of the pressure off of Kupp as he returns from injury.
Addison has emerged as one of the best receivers in college football recently. In 2022, his first and only season at USC, he had 59 receptions for 875 yards and eight touchdowns. Prior to that, he had 160 receptions for 2,259 yards and 17 touchdowns in two seasons at Pittsburgh.
Addison does have some concerns as a prospect, though. He's relatively small at just 5-11 and 174 pounds and his speed isn't particularly exceptional, running a 4.49 40-yard dash. Still, there are more than enough positives to make him a top receiver prospect.
The Trojans star even being available here would be somewhat surprising. According to NFL Mock Draft Database, 86.8 percent of mock drafts have Addison going in the first round. If he did fall, though, Rams fans would be very happy to get a potential star wideout, especially one who played college ball just down the road.
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