As if the Los Angeles Rams weren’t already great, now they add the reigning NFL DPOY to what is shaping up to be an unstoppable Super Bowl winning team.
Prepare for the intense sports debate that only sibling rivalry can conjure. Seesaw Sports, where Dan Salem and Todd Salem throw down on the NFL, MLB, NBA and more. Only on BuzzChomp. Two brothers from New York yell, scream and debate sports.
Originally, we were going to begin our divisional previews today for the 2026 NFL season. However, Monday afternoon, a big transaction took precedent. If you can even believe it, the breaking news of the day saw the New York Giants sign Odell Beckham Jr., who helps bolster a wide receiver room in flux.
Okay, har har har. In actuality, Monday afternoon saw the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Myles Garrett, traded to the Super Bowl-hopeful Los Angeles Rams for Jared Verse and draft compensation including at least one first-round pick.
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According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it’s only the third time in league history a defending defensive POY has been on a new team the following season, and first time ever because of a trade. (The other two signed elsewhere in free agency.) This is a wild move, seemingly out of nowhere. And yet, it seems to make sense for both sides.
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The Rams, who have an aging MVP at quarterback, are trying to win right now. They, famously, do not care about first-round picks and trade them for proven players at every conceivable opportunity. They upgrade from Verse, an exceptional player in his own right, to the best defender the league has seen since former Ram Aaron Donald.
If they weren’t already, Los Angeles immediately becomes the Super Bowl favorite, even ahead of fellow NFC West contender Seattle; you know, the team that actually just won the SB. Health will be a concern on both sides of the ball, but as currently constructed, the Rams have no weaknesses. That’s not a guarantee of anything, but it’s a nice place to start the preseason!
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Before we cover Cleveland’s side of this, we need to harp back on LA selecting Ty Simpson with the 13th overall pick in April’s draft. Does this seem even dumber now, or is some 4D chess going on?
Everyone made fun of the Rams after the draft because a win-now team isn’t supposed to use its top draft asset on a project player not expected to see the field in at least a full season. But that only goes for most (all?) other teams. Other teams build through the draft. The Rams don’t. They needed a corner, so they traded for an All-Pro-level player in Trent McDuffie. They wanted an upgrade at edge, so they traded for the POY. The Rams don’t want to cross their fingers and hope a first-round pick can play in year one; they’ll just trade for a veteran who they know can play.
Instead, the rare pick they do make goes to a project player who is not going to play year one but who could be the lynchpin of the next version of this franchise. I’m still not sure I agree with the decision, mostly because I don’t believe in Simpson to begin with, but I can at least formulate an argument in their favor.
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As for the Browns, they weren’t winning with Garrett, so I don’t hate turning him into the scaffolding for the future of the franchise. Verse is already elite and five years younger than Garrett. Cleveland now adds yet another 1st to their war chest of draft assets. If they plan to acquire their quarterback in 2027 and don’t fall into the correct slotting naturally, they can move up ahead of anybody.
If you want to make the case they’d have been better off getting more picks instead of Verse, I’ll listen, but I won’t agree. A player like Verse is the target for any team because he’s so young and already so good. The only loser of this entire transaction is Verse himself!
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Dan Salem: Rams Prove There Is Still Another Way
Agreed, Verse is the only loser because he now joins a losing team, making it that much harder for him to maintain his stellar level of play. We cannot underplay just how special Garrett is to have been this good on such a bad team. Verse has massive shoes to fill, but that’s a Cleveland problem. We’re talking about the Rams!
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Los Angeles is once again going all in with Matthew Stafford, as they should. It worked splendidly before, so it makes complete sense to try it again. There’s that joke about how it hasn’t worked for anyone else, but maybe it will for us. This is the exact opposite. The Rams have proven this works by winning the Super Bowl, so here we are again.
This move makes me like the drafting of Simpson even more, because it reinforces just how little Los Angeles cares about the draft or selecting players in it. They took a development player, a future prospect, with their first round pick. Well what do you know? The draft is literally about selecting prospects. The idea of actually developing a player, let alone a quarterback, without forcing them to play right away is EXACTLY how this entire draft process was intended to work. Teams could all learn a thing or two from Los Angeles.
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It makes me smile when a deal is great for all parties involved, especially when a great player like Garrett gets to finally join a winning team. It’s like when Saquon Barkley joined the Eagles and immediately won a Super Bowl. All-time great players getting to win a championship is just awesome.
Meet our Sports Writers:
Dan Salem is Lead Editor and Co-owner of BuzzChomp. He’s an award winning Actor, Director and Producer. Visit M Square Productions for his film work, or get lost in his old-school comedy on Pillow Talk TV. You can follow him on X, TikTok and Instagram. His latest film ‘Alone’ is now on Amazon.
Todd Salem is a Staff Writer and Contributing Editor at BuzzChomp. He’s also a champion of fantasy football and fantasy baseball, dominating leagues for over two decades. Comment below on his unfiltered opinions.
Los Angeles Rams Trade – This Is The End
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