Rams mock draft: Chad Reuter receives a trade-down for the same prospect as CBS.

Would Johnny Newton be the next player to pick up Aaron Donald’s snaps for the Rams?

How will the Los Angeles Rams behave in the 2024 NFL Draft, and is it possible that they would trade down to the very last pick in the first round? You can do anything with Les Snead. I had planned to compare the selections made by the Rams in the mock drafts by Tom Fornelli of CBS and Chad Reuter of NFL.com, but they both had Illinois defensive tackle Jer’Zhan “Johnny” Newton going first. But there was one significant distinction.

Reuter had the Rams give up on a receiver to the Kansas City Chiefs and still trade down 13 spots to acquire Newton.

(The Chiefs have never prioritized selecting wide receivers; I’m not sure why they’ll alter their approach now, but this is about the Rams.)

NFL.com Reuter mock draft has the Chiefs trading up to grab Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy, a quick learner, with the 19th overall choice. According to Reuter, the Rams will select choices 32 and 64. If that were a real possibility, Snead would undoubtedly be thrilled to hear it. If Kansas City is prepared to give away its first and second round picks in order to acquire Worthy in a deep wide receiver class, I’ll be quite surprised.

The Rams then select Newton, according to Reuter:

There is no one “on the planet” like Aaron Donald, who retired this week, according to general manager Les Snead on the podcast The Season with Peter Schrager. Nobody anticipates that Donald will be replaced by Newton or anybody else. All the Illinois product needs to do is be himself, a disruptive force. And don’t be shocked if the Rams trade out of Round 1, going eight years without the team obtaining a first-round selection.

Reuter’s four-round selection includes safety Javon Bullard of Georgia and linebacker Trevin Wallace of Kentucky as the picks for Los Angeles in the second round. That would give DT Johnny Newton, S Javon Bullard, and LB Trevin Wallace—three picks on that side of the ball in the first two rounds for the defense-starved Rams.

This year, a strong defensive emphasis would please many Rams supporters.

Reuter projects the Rams will select kicker Cam Little of Arkansas and wide receiver Jalyx Hunt of Houston Christian in the third round.

Fornelli’s reasoning for selecting Newton in his CBS fake was similar to Reuter’s, although he was unable to imagine a make-believe trade:

The Rams have a huge void in the middle of their defensive line as a result of Aaron Donald’s retirement. While not identical like Aaron Donald, Newton does have certain similarities. Both are disruptive, small interior linemen with vicious, strong hands.

Though it’s obvious that supporters would rather have Newton and a second-round pick than the other, is Johnny Newton the player you want the Rams to select first overall? Share your opinions with us in the comments section regarding Reuter’s all-D/ST selections.