Even after winning two games in a row and escaping the bottom of the standings, the Detroit Lions still have a top-8 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft. But it’s not Detroit’s own pick, which currently sits at No. 11 after Week 10.
The pick acquired from the Los Angeles Rams is the higher pick. And with the Rams’ current physical condition, that pick might be shooting up higher by the end of the season.
The defending champs are an injury-riddled mess. Matthew Stafford, the man the Lions traded to acquire all those picks from the Rams including this one, missed the Week 10 loss with a concussion. He’s also battled an ongoing elbow issue all season.
Stafford will return, though perhaps not in Week 11. But he’s far from the only injury concern on the 3-6 Rams.
Star wide receiver Cooper Kupp is out for weeks with an ankle injury, one that is potentially season-ending. The Rams move onto their third starting left tackle with Joe Noteboom and now Alaric Jackson out for the season with injuries. Jackson was the team’s starting right guard before moving to left tackle. They’ve had three different starters in four weeks at that spot, one of them being former Lions reserve Oday Aboushi.
Rams Wire editor Cameron DaSilva recently chronicled the virulence of the injury bug biting Los Angeles this season. The Rams are 29th in the league in scoring and now go forward without their only real playmaking threat in Kupp. Those are tough breaks for the reigning champs, but the Lions — ravaged by injuries at WR and DB all season — will happily take whatever more they can get from the Stafford trade.
