Latest mock draft has the Rams picking surprise developmental quarterback

Though quarterback Matthew Stafford was back to playing at close to a Pro Bowl level in 2023, it’s not too early for the Los Angeles Rams to start looking for his successor.

The 36-year-old signal caller is a little over a year removed from an injury to his spinal cord that caused him to miss the final eight games of the 2022 season, likely limiting how many seasons the former No. 1 overall pick has left.

Which is why CBS Sports’ Garrett Podell believes the Rams could benefit from picking Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy, who’s considered more of a project than some of the other QBs in the 2024 draft, and letting him develop behind Stafford until he’s ready to call it a career.

“Rams head coach Sean McVay takes a page out of former assistant and Packers head coach Matt LaFleur's playbook by taking a first-round quarterback to cook on the bench for a year or two,” Podell wrote. “It certainly paid dividends in Green Bay's move from Aaron Rodgers to Jordan Love. Learning from Matthew Stafford could be exactly what McCarthy needs to have a solid NFL career after playing predominantly in a run-first offense at Michigan.”