The Los Angeles Rams know who they’re taking with the No. 1 overall selection of the 2016 NFL Draft, but just three days before the big shindig kicks off in Chicago no announcement has been made.
So why hasn’t this organization made an announcement already?
Tony Pauline of Draft Insider, writing on the official website of the Philadelphia Eagles, shared this:
“Sources tell me while the Rams want to go through final checks and balances before publicly announcing the pick, there’s a belief the league is pressuring the franchise to hold off on making an announcement until the first day of the draft. The NFL Draft has become such big business that the league hopes to build speculation around who will ultimately end up as the top selection.”
Conspiracy theorists everywhere are nodding their heads, but this actually isn’t far-fetched.
There’s really no reason for the franchise to stay mum on the subject. After the king’s ransom given up to move from No. 15 up to the top spot, there is no way the Rams aren’t picking at the top of the draft. Therefore there is no reason for any intrigue at this point.
And at this point, it’s a not-so-secret secret that Jared Goff out of Cal is the guy for the job. One report said that it is 99.9 percent going to be Goff and that “the entire league knows it” (read here).
It’s so much not a secret that after the Rams made their colossal leap, the Eagles felt comfortable enough to make a giant move up the board themselves, trading with the Cleveland Browns from No. 8 to No. 2. The Eagles wouldn’t have made that move if they didn’t know which guy — Goff or Carson Wentz out of North Dakota State — the Rams were going to take.
Yet here we are. It’s draft week and the Rams are still pretending they are deciding between the two signal callers.
The NFL loves to build drama, and the league might indeed be pressuring the Rams to stay silent until Roger Goodell makes the call from the podium in Chicago.
But does anyone believe there is any real drama going on?
Child, please.