The 2016 draft was looked at as a turning point for the Los Angeles Rams franchise. They had been through a quarterback carousel since 2010 and had yet to find the player who was going to shake up their franchise.
2016 was their first year in Los Angeles, and they were in desperate need of a quarterback who could save them. Their only problem? They had the 15th overall pick at the time and knew that if they wanted a big playmaker, they had to trade up for it.
So, in classic Rams fashion, they traded up using their first-round pick as well as their first-round pick in the 2017 draft to go all the way to the top of the draft with the first overall pick. This was their chance to turn things around in hopes of chasing their former glory days way back when.
In an odd twist of fate, their selecting Jared Goff first overall did eventually net them a Super Bowl win, just not in the way they imagined it. If it wasn't for Goff, they wouldn't have had the personnel needed to make the Matthew Stafford trade, the quarterback that would shake up their franchise.
Pro Football Focus released a 2016 redraft where teams selected players they knew would end up becoming stars. For the Rams, though, there is an argument to keep Goff as the top pick; they believe that the Rams would draft Dak Prescott first overall in their 2016 redraft.
"There’s a great argument to keep Goff as the No. 1 overall pick: He brought the Rams to the Super Bowl in 2018 and boasts an 83.3 career PFF overall grade so far. But since the team traded Goff in 2021 to the Lions for an upgrade in Matthew Stafford, we’ll instead give them Dak Prescott".
There's no guarantee that if the team had drafted Prescott, they wouldn't have made the Stafford trade down the line. While Prescott would've put more of an offensive showing against the New England Patriots in their Super Bowl matchup, there's still uncertainty on whether or not they would've won anyway.
"After being drafted in the fourth round by the Dallas Cowboys, Prescott has turned into one of the NFL's better quarterbacks. He has made four Pro Bowls and owns an elite 90.7 career PFF overall grade. In 2023, he was the most valuable player in the league, according to PFF WAR".
It's true that Prescott has what it takes to be in the upper echelon of NFL quarterbacks, and envisioning him in a Sean McVay offense would only serve to uplift his play on the field. I just can't help but feel that Goff would've still been the right choice.
Even if the Rams knew the type of player Prescott would blossom into, Goff is still a top-tier quarterback in his own right. Prescott may have more of a rushing upside, but his play is inconsistent compared to the effectiveness Goff can play with at times.
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