Did Giants’ Blockbuster Trade Shake Up Rams’ Draft Board?

The Los Angeles Rams are in a great spot in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft in the sense that they can let the draft fall to them. However, it also means they’re reliant on teams ahead of them not to blow up their draft plans. General manager Les Snead will almost certainly have planned out several scenarios to be ready for whatever might happen. However, things could still change unexpectedly.

The Giants' Trade Changes the Board

That’s what happened on Saturday when the New York Giants traded defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence to the Cincinnati Bengals for the tenth overall pick. Not only is this a move out of the norm for the Bengals, but the Giants now have two top-10 picks. They will hold their original pick at five as well as the tenth overall pick originally held by the Bengals.

The expectation is still that the Giants will take linebacker Sonny Styles with the fifth overall pick, but what they do at 10 is what will affect the Rams most. While the Rams would have loved Styles to fall to them, it was simply never going to happen. The hope now is that the Giants don’t take a player that the Rams have had their eye on throughout the draft process.

In the case that the Giants go defense, the Rams will likely sigh in relief as it pushes the offensive talent down the board. A player like Caleb Downs would give head coach John Harbaugh his next Kyle Hamilton in his defense. Downs is one of the best players in the draft, but the Rams are deep at safety. With Kam Curl, Quentin Lake, and Kam Kinches, the Rams wouldn’t have a place for Downs. The Giants could also look to directly replace Lawrence with defensive tackles Kayden McDonald or Peter Woods.

However, it’s very possible that the Giants look to build around their young quarterback in Jaxson Dart and give him another weapon at receiver. While there is some depth at the wide receiver position, the Rams will have their eyes on both Ohio State’s Carnell Tate and Arizona State’s Jordyn Tyson.

The Giants were one of the teams in attendance for Tyson’s workout last week with Harbaugh and general manager Joe Schoen in attendance. There is a need at wide receiver for the Giants as Malik Nabers is coming off of a torn ACL and Darius Slayton is the WR2. Pairing Tyson with Nabers would give Dart and the Giants a legitimate receiving duo to build around.

Why Pick Giants Pick at 10 Matters Most for the Rams

This is where the Giants could blow up the Rams’ draft plans. In order to get Tate, the Rams were always going to have to trade up. However, given Tyson’s injury history, there was some hope that if they couldn’t trade up for Tate, Tyson may fall to them at 13.

Tyson going at 10 is a scenario that was never going to happen with the Bengals. While the Bengals may look to add a wide receiver later in the draft, there wasn’t a need to add Tyson with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins on the roster. If Tyson is the player that the Giants are targeting at 10th overall, it would leave the Rams with their choice of the next tier of wide receivers.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Players like Makai Lemon, Omar Cooper Jr., KC Concepcion, and Denzel Boston would certainly fit in the offense. There are more questions with those players, but they still fit. With that said, in a win-now type season, adding one of the top two wide receivers would provide a large boost to the offense.

What This Means for Rams’ Draft Strategy

In order to get Tate, the Rams will still need to trade up with the Cleveland Browns at six or the Washington Commanders at seven. However, where the Rams may have initially hoped one of Tyson or Tate would fall to 13, that’s now highly unlikely with the Giants sitting at 10.

The Rams are in a spot where they can truly take the best player available and are in control of their board. Still, there will be certain scenarios and players that they’ll be hoping for on draft night. One of those scenarios will be to acquire one of the top two wide receivers. The Giants may not have blown up the Rams’ draft plans by acquiring the 10th overall pick in the Lawrence trade, but if they want to add one of the top two receivers, Snead may need to be more aggressive.

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