LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Rams gave up six premium picks to move up from No. 15 to No. 1 to land who they hope is their present and future franchise quarterback. After taking their second quarterback with the first pick in the past seven years, they're betting big that Cal's Jared Goff will be that guy.
My take: When the Rams made the deal with the Tennessee Titans to move up for either Goff or North Dakota State's Carson Wentz, it was one I wouldn't have made but understood. This team had reached a point of desperation in its need for a franchise quarterback. They did what they had to do to make it happen. Wentz might have been a better fit for what the Rams want to be offensively but that doesn't mean Goff can't succeed in the NFL. The biggest question now is what the Rams will do to add receiving weapons and solidify the offensive line. They want to put Goff in position to get them over the hump so the guys who traded up for him -- coach Jeff Fisher and general manager Les Snead -- will still be employed if and when Goff reaches his potential.
Start or sit? Fisher and Snead have repeatedly said they won't push any quarterback drafted to play until he's ready. But it's naive to think they traded all those picks in order to have Goff sit and watch. Don't be surprised if Goff follows the plan for what Snead and the Atlanta Falcons did with Matt Ryan in 2008 when Ryan worked with Chris Redman through the third preseason game and then took over as the starter for the regular season.
Who's on the way out? With Goff in the fold, the Rams now have four quarterbacks on the roster. They won't carry that many during the season, so someone has to go. Who will that be? All signs point to Nick Foles, the player the Rams traded for and signed in 2015 in hopes that he was the franchise signal-caller they needed. The Rams hope that Foles' deletion will come via trade. According to a league source, "four or five" teams have already reached out about the possibility of a deal. In all likelihood, a deal will have to wait for the next couple of days as teams select quarterbacks and others miss out on some. Those that miss out could find themselves in the market with a late-round pick the likely compensation.
What's next: A wait. A long, long wait. The Rams won't pick again until the fourth round, which means they will be sitting out Friday's festivities, barring a trade. Since they're unlikely to make a deal to move back into Day 2, that means they'll spend a lot of time Friday hoping the players they want fall to the fourth round and monitoring potential trades involving Foles.