Last year, I made a draft pick value chart based only on trades.

The two 2025 picks gained by ATL in the Pearce trade were 662 points better than the two 2025 picks they sent.

If the Rams pick in the top 8, the pick will be worth more than 3x what they paid for it. https://t.co/YNDRUqHvdk

— Anthony Reinhard (@reinhardNFL) November 17, 2025

Less than a year ago, the Los Angeles Rams traded out of the first round with the Atlanta Falcons. L.A. gave up the Nos. 26 and 101 picks for Atlanta’s No. 46 and No. 242 selections, as well as their first-round pick in 2026.

At first, the trade seemed pretty fair. The Falcons got to draft edge rusher James Pearce, while the Rams only moved back 20 spots to take tight end Terrance Ferguson. Football analytics writer Anthony Reinhard even calculated that the Falcons got a slight edge on the deal. The concept of the 2026 first-round pick, at that point, ranged anywhere from No. 1 to No. 32 and was impossible to know whether or not the Rams got a great deal or just a good one.

Heading into Week 11, that first-round pick sits at No. 8 overall. And considering how the Falcons’ season is looking now that quarterback Michael Penix is out for the season, that pick could get even better.

Reinhard looked at his draft pick trade analyzer again with this in mind, and, if the Falcons’ pick indeed falls inside the top-8, the Rams will own a pick worth triple what they paid for it in April.

This is an insane return on investment for the Rams if it comes to fruition. General manager Les Snead and head coach Sean McVay could completely alter the team’s future with a top-8 pick, either by packaging it with other assets to move up, or by trading it away for a veteran, or by taking an impact play in the top-10.

There is a lot of room for flexibility now with such a high pick at the team’s disposal. And it could get even higher. The 3-7 Falcons still have to face the Seattle Seahawks, the New Orleans Saints twice and even take on the Rams in Week 17. While the Rams very well could lock up a top seed by that matchup, it might behoove McVay and company to still try and win the game to better their own draft selection come next April.

What a time for the Rams.