The Los Angeles Rams made a bold draft-day trade in 2025 when they sent their No. 26 pick to the Atlanta Falcons to move back into the second round. While they picked up an additional 2026 first-round pick that ended up becoming the No. 13 overall selection, L.A. missed out on some quality players they could have taken with their original selection.
While hindsight is 20/20, NFL.com’s Ali Bhanpuri went back in time and made a pick for the Rams at No. 26 instead of trading out of the pick. He took Kansas State cornerback Jacob Parrish with the selection instead. In reality, Parrish went No. 84 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Parrish — a physical, loves-to-tackle corner who can play in the slot and outside — would have filled in nicely for an injured Quentin Lake during the back half of the campaign. Shoot, he would have been a solid overall contributor for a defense that used dime personnel at the second-highest rate (30.4%) during 2025, per Next Gen Stats. Of course, L.A. had its share of special-teams issues this year, too, but we’re pretty sure Les Snead and Sean McVay wouldn’t have tried to address them in Round 1. Plus, the Thiccer Kicker seems to have stabilized the field-goal operation since joining the team at midseason.
Parrish only started five games this year, but played in all 17 for the Buccaneers. He finished his rookie season with two interceptions, two sacks, one fumble recovery, seven tackles for a loss and 76 combined tackles.
As Bhanpuri mentioned, Parrish would have been a great nickel defensive back in Chris Shula’s defense and perhaps pushed some of the Rams’ other cornerbacks for a more full-time role in the secondary. Instead, he’s doing so on the Buccaneers, while the Rams added an offensive weapon in tight end Terrance Ferguson in the second round.
L.A.’s secondary remains its biggest need as they head into the NFC championship game. It would make a lot of sense for them to look at that position in the 2026 offseason.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: 2025 NFL re-draft: Rams stay put and take a CB instead of trading out
Reporting by Tyler Greenawalt, Rams Wire / Rams Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
