The Los Angeles Rams may have found their current franchise quarterback in a trade, but they drafted two others with the No. 1 overall pick in the past 25 years: Sam Bradford in 2010 and Jared Goff in 2016.
Bleacher Report's Kristopher Knox ranked the past No. 1 overall picks since 2000, with Bradford and Goff coming in at opposite sides of the spectrum. Bradford finished No. 20 while Goff finished at No. 8 in Knox's list.
Now, these rankings are less about the pick itself but more about what the player became. Bradford won Rookie of the Year in 2010, but never blossomed into a superstar. Knox also knocked Bradford for his injury history, lack of "big moments" and because of the players drafted around him like Ndamukong Suh, Gerald McCoy, Trent Williams, Eric Berry, Russell Okung and Joe Haden.
Goff, meanwhile, got much more praise for the player he became with the Detroit Lions and because of the other quarterbacks drafted that year. The Rams may have traded up to take Goff, but Knox wrote that it was still the correct move despite his rollercoaster career with the team.
"Goff's time with the Rams had its ups and downs," Knox wrote. "He struggled as a rookie under head coach Jeff Fischer but became a Pro Bowler under Sean McVay. He helped lead the Rams to Super Bowl LIII but lost the game and was traded to the Detroit Lions after two more seasons.
"In Detroit, however, Goff has again become a Pro Bowl quarterback and one of the league's most prolific passers. Two years ago, he helped the Lions reach their first NFC title game since 1991. Last year, he posted a career-high 111.8 passer rating while leading Detroit to a franchise-best 15-2 record.
"Goff spent just five seasons with the team that drafted him, but he was absolutely the right pick at No. 1 in 2016. The Dallas Cowboys stumbled into Dak Prescott in the fourth round that year, but the list of other quarterbacks in the class is headlined by Carson Wentz, Paxton Lynch, Connor Cook and Christian Hackenberg."
The Rams likely won't get the No. 1 overall pick again for some time, but that doesn't mean they're done drafting quarterbacks. General manager Les Snead said the team was "open" to taking one at some point in the 2025 NFL Draft, and mock draft have connected the Rams to players like Jaxson Dart, Shedeur Sanders and Quinn Ewers.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire:
