Why someone like Taliese Fuaga could move the needle for Les Snead’s Rams

The last two times that the Los Angeles Rams were going into draft season with a first round pick, Les Snead traded it and made significant jumps in both directions. In 2016, the Rams traded all the way up to number one for Jared Goff and in 2019 Snead went in the opposite direction until finally landing on Taylor Rapp by the end of round two.

For now, the L.A. Rams have a first round pick, which is 19th overall. What are the odds that Snead will trade the pick between now and being on the clock?

Relatively high.

I mean, who has the better odds to trade a first round pick than the Rams? Nobody.

If L.A. were to decide to go up, these three names stand out to me before the combine as prospects that could really fit what the Rams need and want to do in the future.

OT Taliese Fuaga, Oregon State

Few players seem to have risen more in the last month than Fuaga, as evidenced by this trend from NFLMockDraftDatabase:

Fuaga is listed right now at 6’5, 332 lbs and is a redshirt junior at Oregon State. He was only a three-star recruit out of Tacoma, Washington in the 2020 class and spent his first two years as a reserve for the Beavers. Fuaga became a starter in 2022 and was named second team All-Pac 12 that year at right tackle. In 2023, he became first team All-Pac 12 and a first-team All-American.

The Draft Network describes his strengths as “run game dominance”, “NFL frame”, “heavy hands”, and “positional flexibility”. Concerns are “oversetting in pass pro”, “inconsistent footwork”, and “over aggressiveness”.

Fuaga has enough quickness to play right tackle at the next level. Projects as a starter at both OG and RT. He is an ideal fit for a run-first offense with a play-action passing game. If a team is set at OT, Fuaga could slide into a guard spot to upgrade their offensive line.

Fuaga’s arms are listed around 33.5” before we get to the combine, which might be under the “elite” side.

It seems like most analysts are high on his potential to become a top-tier offensive tackle in the NFL and it shouldn’t matter that much if he fits on the right side only. Look at the value that Lane Johnson has given the Eagles since being the fourth overall pick in 2013 and if the teams ahead of Philadelphia knew it, they would have definitely not picked Luke Joeckel and Eric Fisher over him just because those guys were left tackles.

The Rams have a far greater need at left tackle than right, at least in 2024, because A.J. Jackson is the guy who may need some competition. But Fuaga can’t be ruled out from being a left tackle of the future. On the right side, Rob Havenstein is turning 32 and may not be someone who L.A. wants to give another extension to, so Fuaga could compete on either side. Another possibility is that the Rams don’t re-sign Kevin Dotson and get a third round compensatory pick when he leaves, slotting Fuaga at right guard for 2024 and then seeing where he’s needed in 2025.

I expect some pushback from fans because Fuaga didn’t play left tackle in college and it’s a big ask to trade up for someone who might be your right guard in the beginning, but I do think Fuaga could be that special.

Let’s say that the draft gets past 12 or 13 picks and Fuaga is still available—he could go inside the top-10—would it be that much of a risk to give up a third round pick to move up when we know L.A. already has a rich bag of comp picks? Fuaga was a standout at the Senior Bowl, which is something else Snead tends to really respect.

CB Quinyon Mitchell, Toledo

Another major riser on draft boards recently has been Quinyon Mitchell, sure to be one of the best prospects out of Toledo in history. Forget the college and level of competition, as Mitchell has been regularly mocked in the top-15, if not top-10 picks in the 2024 NFL Draft.

There is no bigger weakness on the Rams defense than cornerback, so to what degree would Snead and Sean McVay want to address that for new defensive coordinator Chris Shula?

There is some argument to be made that L.A. doesn’t feel it needs a top-tier cornerback for the defense, but it’s worth remembering that the Rams not only won a Super Bowl with Jalen Ramsey; they also favored adding talent there before Ramsey with acquisitions like Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters.

Nobody on the roster comes close to that now as all of the players signed for 2024 have to compete to start. There’s no sure sign that Ahkello Witherspoon will re-sign as a free agent or that he’ll have as good of a year (or stay healthy) that he had in 2023.

The Draft Network calls the 6’, 195 lb Mitchell “an explosive athlete” which is why I’ve got him slotted here above Alabama’s Terrion Arnold, a player who may or may not have the elite speed that Snead tends to like. TDN mentions “coverage instincts”, “ball production”, “reactive athlete” and “explosive downhill trigger” as strengths.

And “recovery vertical speed”, “overaggressiveness”, and “late backpedal transitions” as weaknesses.

Quinyon Mitchell plays a good amount of off-man and zone coverage. His route-recognition ability is excellent. Mitchell does a nice job reading routes from his landmarks and squatting before driving downhill. He uses a side-saddle or bail technique to keep everything in front of him and prevent the deep ball.

Mitchell has tremendous ball skills and production over the last two seasons. He battles at the catch point with an entitled attitude. He is as competitive and disruptive as any CB I’ve studied in this class at the catch point. I love how he attacks the receiver’s hands and punches through the pocket to force incompletions. Mitchell is skilled at undercutting routes and creating turnover opportunities. He anticipates the receiver’s break and drives on the ball.

Overall, Mitchell projects as a Cover 3 or 4 outside cornerback. With his back to the sideline, Mitchell could be at his best to keep his eyes on route concepts and the quarterback. Potential slot ability in 3 to 4 cornerback sets. Ball production makes him a risky DB to target—27 pass breakups and six interceptions since 2022.

Maybe Mitchell isn’t the fit you see as being best for L.A.’s secondary and that’s fair. We’ll see how the corners measure at the combine. But the Rams getting a cornerback in the draft, maybe even moving up 2-5 spots for one, should be on the table.

EDGE Jared Verse, Florida State

Contrary to the two risers, Verse may have seen his stock fall during the 2023 college season as some felt he could have been a top-5 pick if he had declared the year before. Verse returned to Florida State though and while he didn’t have bad numbers (9 sacks, 12.5 TFL) they were about the same as 2022.

Still, numbers are just a small part of the story and Verse could see his stock stay inside the top-14 picks because of his athleticism, a reason to think he could be a Rams-type prospect at a position of need and importance:

Elite athletic skills — Made Bruce Feldman’s 2023 ‘Freaks List’ at number 26. He wrote: “another year at FSU has enabled him to continue to develop, both physically and in his on-field skill set. At 6-3 1/2, 260 pounds, Verse power-cleans 360 pounds, squats 555 and benches 455, but he also has excellent burst, running 21.14 MPH in a game with a max acceleration of 5.85m/s with a max deceleration of -6.98m/s.”

Another reason to wonder if the Rams would trade up for an edge rusher, more than a corner or tackle, is that it is not the deepest position in the draft. You can get good corner and tackle prospects at 19 without moving up. Edge is a different story.

Right now, people like Verse, Dallas Turner, and Laiatu Latu as first round picks. There may not be any other first round edge picks.

Maybe there are, maybe there are twice as many, it’s just that the top-tier appears to be those three and given the value at edge, they might all go inside the top-16 picks. The Rams have Byron Young, they just picked Nick Hampton and Ochaun Mathis, they have to make a decision on Michael Hoecht as a restricted free agent. But they don’t have a player on the edge who has the ceiling to become great like Verse or Turner.

Young, more than Kobie Turner, was the one benefiting the most from double-teams by his teammates and players forcing quarterbacks to run into him for sacks. So I think moving up for Verse or Dallas Turner by giving up a mid-round pick to move up a few spots, it’s not that high of a price to pay.

And I know that I don’t know what it would cost to move up or how high L.A. has to go, but not every trade up in the first round requires giving up a future first rounder. A lot of them in the middle of the first round, it could be a third round or a future second, something like that. Sometimes it is even less. We’ll see what it would cost the Rams and make no mistake: When Les likes someone, Les isn’t afraid to make a move to get someone.