{"id":871826,"date":"2026-04-22T11:06:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T11:06:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/871826\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T11:06:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T11:06:18","slug":"nfl-draft-rams-could-target-a-top-receiver-with-no-13-pick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/871826\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL draft: Rams could target a top receiver with No. 13 pick"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Immediately after last year\u2019s NFL draft, in which the Rams<\/a> came away with two first-round picks in 2026, coach Sean McVay<\/a> put off any hint of anticipation about how the team might leverage their bounty in this year\u2019s draft.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne year\u2019s like dog years to me in coaching,\u201d McVay said, chuckling, \u201cThat\u2019s a long way away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not anymore.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, the three-day draft begins in Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n

The Rams already upgraded the roster that helped them reach the NFC championship game last season.<\/p>\n

To a team that featured quarterback Matthew Stafford<\/a> \u2014 the NFL most valuable player \u2014 star receivers Puka Nacua<\/a> and Davante Adams<\/a> and Pro Bowl edge rushers Jared Verse and Byron Young, the Rams re-signed safety Kam Curl and added cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson.<\/p>\n

The Rams gave up the No. 29 pick in a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs for McDuffie, an All-Pro the Rams promptly made the highest-paid player at his position in NFL history.<\/p>\n

But they still have the No. 13 pick \u2014 acquired in the 2025 draft-day trade with the Atlanta Falcons \u2014 giving them a chance to supplement a roster that makes the Rams a favorite to play in Super Bowl LXI<\/a> at SoFi Stadium in February.<\/p>\n

The Rams do not have a \u201cvoid\u201d or an immediate need for a rookie to replace a starter, McVay said, so there is no need to \u201cpress\u201d with the No. 13 pick.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was accomplished and accommodated by the guys that we signed or re-signed, or that we have under contract,\u201d he said, \u201cso we feel really good.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Rams will go into the draft with one pick in the first, second and third rounds, one pick in the sixth round and three in the seventh.<\/p>\n

The Rams have not had a top-10 pick since 2016, when they selected quarterback Jared Goff No. 1<\/a>. This is only the third time since they returned to Los Angeles from St. Louis in 2016 that they will go into the draft with a first-round pick. In 2024, they chose Verse with the 19th pick.<\/p>\n

Is this the year that McVay, hired in 2017, finally gets a chance to draft an impact skill player on offense?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re eager to add a really good player at [No.] 13,\u201d he said, adding, \u201cThere\u2019s skill players that I like, and that we like, and there\u2019s a lot of positions of guys that we like in this class.\u201d<\/p>\n

General manager Les Snead has never been shy about attempting to trade up to select a desired player or back to acquire more draft capital. Last year, the Rams traded the 26th pick<\/a> and a third-round pick to the Falcons for a second-round pick and a seventh-round pick, and the first-round pick this year.<\/p>\n

Would the Rams trade up or back from No. 13?<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re happy at 13 but those options are always on the table,\u201d Snead said.<\/p>\n

If the Rams have a need, it is probably at receiver.<\/p>\n

Adams is in the final year of the two-year contract the future Hall of Famer signed as a free agent before last season. He led the NFL with 14 touchdown receptions, but was still discussed in trade talks.<\/p>\n

Nacua, a fourth-year pro, led the NFL with 129 catches last season but has had off-the-field problems, including an alleged biting incident that led to a civil lawsuit. He entered a rehabilitation program in March but is participating in voluntary offseason workouts. Nacua is eligible for a massive extension, but the Rams are now taking a wait-and-see approach before making a long-term commitment.<\/p>\n

The draft class includes receivers such as Carnell Tate<\/a> from Ohio State, Jordyn Tyson<\/a> (Arizona State) and Makai Lemon<\/a> (USC) among others.<\/p>\n

Snead did not have to look far to evaluate Lemon, the Biletnikoff Award-winner as college football\u2019s top receiver.<\/p>\n

Snead\u2019s daughter attends USC, and his son works in USC\u2019s football front office.<\/p>\n

\u201cLemon\u2019s a fun player to watch,\u201d Snead said, adding, \u201cAs a fan, as a father with two kids there, it was fun when you saw the ball go up and it was heading toward Lemon\u2019s hands. You always felt like he\u2019d bring it down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Offensive line and edge rusher are among other positions the Rams could explore, and quarterback is not off the table in later rounds.<\/p>\n

Stafford is at the far end of his career, Jimmy Garoppolo<\/a> is a free agent contemplating retirement, and fourth-year pro Stetson Bennett has not played in a regular season game.<\/p>\n

McVay said Bennett is \u201cconsidered a backup,\u201d a role he filled the first two games in 2024 when Garoppolo was suspended.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat wouldn\u2019t be something that we\u2019d be afraid of,\u201d McVay said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Immediately after last year\u2019s NFL draft, in which the Rams came away with two first-round picks in 2026,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":871827,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2079],"tags":[3174,7,118149,3478,1014,58,2444,2611,34748,3687,6,15,883,187,29207,424,3173,118148,9653,1320],"class_list":{"0":"post-871826","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles-rams","8":"tag-first-round-pick","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-immediate-need","11":"tag-last-season","12":"tag-los-angeles","13":"tag-los-angeles-rams","14":"tag-losangeles","15":"tag-losangelesrams","16":"tag-makai-lemon","17":"tag-mcvay","18":"tag-nfl","19":"tag-nfl-draft","20":"tag-no","21":"tag-pick","22":"tag-ram","23":"tag-rams","24":"tag-snead","25":"tag-top-receiver","26":"tag-usc","27":"tag-year"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116448040335274971","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/871826","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=871826"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/871826\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/871827"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=871826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=871826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=871826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}