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SoFi Stadium, home of the Los Angeles Rams. | Photo courtesy of PontiacAurora/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
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By, Steven Herbert
The Los Angeles Rams will make their first choices of the 2023 NFL draft Friday after not having a pick in the first round for the seventh consecutive year.
The Rams will have three picks Friday — the fifth selection in the second round, the 36th overall choice; the sixth selection in the third round, the 69th overall choice; and the 14th selection in the third round, the 77th overall choice, acquired along with tight end Hunter Long in the March 15 trade of defensive back Jalen Ramsey to the Miami Dolphins.
Retired Rams receiving star Torry Holt will announce the second-round pick in Kansas City, Missouri, where the draft is being conducted for the first time.
The Rams traded the first-round choice in 2021 — along with their 2022 first-round pick, a 2021 third-round pick and quarterback Jared Goff — to Detroit for quarterback Matthew Stafford, who helped lead the Rams to a Super Bowl victory his first season with the team.
Thanks to the Rams’ 5-12 record, their first losing record in Sean McVay’s six seasons as coach, the choice was the sixth. Detroit traded the pick Thursday to Arizona along with a third-round choice in exchange for the 12th choice in the first round, and second and fifth-round choices. The Cardinals used the pick to select Ohio State tackle Paris Johnson.
The Rams have eight choices Saturday, the final day of the draft when the fourth through seventh rounds will be conducted — three in the fifth round, three in the sixth and two in the seventh.
The Rams have three compensatory selections in the fifth round, the round’s 33rd, 37th and 43rd choices and 167th, 171st and 177th selections overall.
To qualify for compensatory picks, teams must end up with more or better qualifying free agents lost than gained in a particular year. The spot the picks are in is based upon a league formula that takes into account a player’s average salary per year, snap count and postseason awards.
In the sixth round, the Rams have their own choice, the fifth choice and 182nd overall; the round’s 12th pick, the 189th overall, acquired from Tennessee in 2022 in exchange for receiver Robert Woods; and the 14th selection, 191st overall, acquired from Green Bay in 2021 in exchange for punter Corey Bojorquez and a 2023 seventh-round pick.
In the seventh round, the Rams have their own choice, the round’s sixth and 223rd overall; and the 17th choice, 234th overall, acquired April 19th from the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for receiver Allen Robinson along with a compensatory pick, which was the round’s 34th choice and 251st overall.
The 11 selections are the most picks in a draft for the Rams since 2018 when they also had 11.
The Rams are conducting the draft from a 10,000-square-foot home in Tarzana they’ve dubbed the “SoFi Draft Lab,” continuing their tradition of drafting from a luxury home in the greater Los Angeles region.
