OXNARD, Calif. — The Rams are tired of waiting to get a franchise quarterback, and they want to make a splash in their return to Los Angeles.
So after waiting a day out of respect for Kobe Bryant, they went all in on one of the biggest trades in NFL draft history.
The Rams acquired the No. 1 overall pick from the Tennessee Titans, giving up six draft picks over the next two seasons in exchange for three choices.
General manager Les Snead and coach Jeff Fisher left little doubt the Rams will choose a quarterback with the top pick, hoping to end years of frustration at the most important position in football.
“This is a fun time, an exciting time,” Fisher said Thursday at the team’s temporary Southern California headquarters. “We still have work to do, (but) we’re going to get the right guy, and everybody is going to like him, and we’re going to go out and win some games.”
Los Angeles has already held private workouts with California’s Jared Goff and North Dakota State’s Carson Wentz, generally considered the top two quarterback prospects in the field. Although Snead confirmed the Rams won’t reveal their pick before draft night, the GM is clearly thrilled by the chance to add a potential franchise passer to an all-around solid roster lacking a centerpiece.
“We do have a few players in mind,” Snead said with a grin. “There will be suspense leading all the way up. … There’s not enough (quarterbacks) on the planet to feed 32 NFL teams, so that is the challenge.”
In the first NFL trade involving the top overall pick since 2004, the Rams also acquired Tennessee’s choices in the fourth and sixth rounds. In exchange, the Titans got the 15th overall pick from Los Angeles along with two second-round selections and a third-round pick in this draft, along with the Rams’ first- and third-round picks in 2017.
That’s an extraordinary commitment of future resources, but the Rams are weary of waiting. They’ve missed the playoffs in 11 straight seasons, and haven’t finished with a winning record since 2003.
“Historically, no one has done this,” Fisher said. “Both Tennessee and we realize that no one has gone from 1 to 15.”
The Rams went 7-9 in St. Louis last year while getting unimpressive quarterback play from Nick Foles and Case Keenum. With the franchise entering the crowded Los Angeles sports market after 21 years away, the opportunity was ideal to add a marquee name to a team already boasting star running back Todd Gurley and a talented defense.
Snead and Fisher ran the deal by Rams owner Stan Kroenke, who approved of both the bold move and its timing.
“He was very, very excited about this opportunity,” Fisher said.”
Snead and Titans general manager Jon Robinson have discussed the deal since the draft combine, where their scouting departments happened to be next to each other in the suites in Indianapolis.
“It was easy for Jon and I to sneak out the back of the suite there, act like we were going to the restroom, and chat about the pick,” Snead said. “They were willing. I think you’ve got that luxury when you have (Marcus Mariota).”
But there was a complication: The Titans wanted to finalize the deal on Wednesday so that both teams could have extra time for draft preparations. Most of Los Angeles was spending that day focused on Bryant’s final game with the Los Angeles Lakers