New mock draft from Mocking the Draft shows why trade down from #31 is likely for Los Angeles Rams

We’re deep enough beyond the opening of free agency that we have a pretty good sense of where teams are across the NFL. So now, teams are turning in earnest toward the 2019 NFL Draft as their last (and best) opportunity to build up their roster as we head toward the 2019 season.

In this week’s Monday mock from Mocking the Draft’s Dan Kadar, that means an obvious probability for the Los Angeles Rams: trading down from the 31st overall pick.

Skipping the proceedings, here’s what Kadar has for the Rams:

#31.) Temple Owls CB Rock Ya-Sin
Offseason needs: Linebacker, guard, cornerback, defensive line

Chances are the Rams will try to trade back from No. 31 to accumulate an extra pick or two. If a defensive back is the move, that’s especially true. The Rams should be able to find a starter either at safety or cornerback in the 40s. But if they hold, a player like Ya-Sin has top-32 talent.

The only reason to stay at 31 is if you’re certain that a prospect is both (a) a certainty in terms of their capabilities and (b) unattainable a few picks later wherever you would be trading down to and (c) is a level beyond the other options that would be available at that point.

I find it very hard to believe there will be any prospects that fit that third point. And because the Rams have a hole in their roster timeline due to previous trades, getting a player of the same caliber a half dozen or so picks later while getting an extra pick to help address that hole seems nearly inevitable.