The Los Angeles Rams are the kings of blockbuster trades. In the last five years alone, they’ve acquired the likes of Matthew Stafford, Brandin Cooks, Jalen Ramsey and Von Miller. Les Snead and Sean McVay are never afraid to make a bold move, even at the cost of draft picks and salary cap space.
Buy Rams TicketsSome fans are hoping they make another one this year with Christian McCaffrey recently becoming available. The Panthers are listening to offers for McCaffrey, and according to CBS Sports, the Rams are among the teams showing at least some level of interest.
Many of Los Angeles’ trades for big-name players have worked, but this is one the team should pass on. It’s not because of McCaffrey’s contract, either. His base salary this year is just $1.035 million, which would be simple for the Rams – or any other team – to fit under the cap.
The reason the Rams should not trade for McCaffrey is the positional value and cost to acquire him. They’re already without their first- and fourth-round picks in the 2023 draft, leaving them with just two selections in the first four rounds.
The Rams have overcome a lack of valuable draft capital in the last few years, and it worked so well that they won the Super Bowl in February. But in order to acquire McCaffrey, the Rams would likely need to give up at least their third-round pick in 2023 and another mid-round selection, possibly another second- or third-rounder.
There’s no denying the talent McCaffrey possesses. He’s one of the best all-around running backs in football, both as a receiver and runner. But he’s also not the most durable player, and he’s a running back. The Rams value that position much too highly, spending three picks in the first five rounds on running backs in the last four years.
Meanwhile, the Texans appear to have a star in the making in Dameon Pierce, a fourth-round rookie in 2022. Spending big on a running back isn’t necessary in today’s NFL when it’s all about protecting your quarterback and sacking the other team’s passer.
Trading for McCaffrey won’t solve the Rams’ biggest problem, which is the offensive line. He could certainly break more tackles than Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson Jr. have, but he’s not going to suddenly take the Rams from a bottom-five offense to a top-five unit.
Even with Akers seemingly on his way out of Los Angeles, the Rams don’t need to make a big move for McCaffrey. Unless it’s only for a late-round pick or two, trading multiple top-100 picks for a running back is bad business and would be a poor use of their assets.
They’d be better off trying to win it all with their current collection of running backs and using their top draft picks next year on offensive line help – because everyone and their mother knows this team needs it.
And in the event that the Rams do trade for McCaffrey, his cap hit jumps to $19.55 million the next two years, which means they’d either be paying a ton for a running back or they’d need to find another trade partner to get his contract off the books.
It’s simply not worth it.
