In 2021 the LA Rams pulled out a blockbuster trade that helped them win the Superbowl in the same year they acquired their quarterback, Matthew Stafford, from the Detroit Lions. The Rams are notorious for trading their number 1 draft picks for established veteran players over the last several years. The Rams have done it again in another CHECKMATE move and acquired one of the best defensive ends in the league, Myles Garrett, from the Cleveland Browns. The Rams will send their much younger defensive end, Jared Verse, to Cleveland with three draft picks of which two are number one selections. The draft picks are 2027 first round pick, 2028 first round pick, and finally a 2029 3rd round pick. This is a trade that can certainly help the Rams get to the Superbowl which their home stadium is hosting next February. It also helps the Cleveland Browns get some of the draft capital they surrendered to the Houston Texans a few seasons ago when they acquired the sexual predator, Deshaun Watson.

Myles Garrett was originally drafted by the Cleveland Browns back in 2017 in the first round number 1 overall from Texas A&M. He is 30 years of age and already has 9 seasons in the NFL. He is the highest paid player in the league that is not a quarterback. He has won back to back years as the defensive player of the year. Last year he tied the NFL single season record of most sacks by a player in one season. He had 23 sacks. He played in all 17 games for the Browns last year, tallied up 43 solo tackles, and forced three fumbles in 2025. He has played in 134 career games in his career and has racked up 125.5 sacks with 293 solo tackles while forcing 23 fumbles. In 9 seasons he has only played in 3 career playoff games with the Browns and has recorded one sack in those games. Garrett is remembered for ripping the helmet off Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolf during a play & then using it as a weapon to hit him in the head with it. Garrett would miss six games including the post-season in 2019 for that incident as he was suspended by the league.

You have to feel sorry for Jared Verse who has two years in the league and has been a starter for the Rams both seasons. Now he leaves a potential team that could make it to the Superbowl to play for a flunky like the Browns. Verse is also a first round pick. He was drafted in 2024 by the Rams number 19 overall from Florida State University. Last year he racked up 7.5 sacks for the Rams as he played in all 17 regular season games. He also had 35 solo tackles and forced 3 fumbles. In two seasons he has racked up 12 sacks and has 71 total solo tackles in 34 games. He has also forced 5 fumbles. He has 45 total QB hits in two seasons. He was named Defensive Rookie of the Year for the Rams in 2024. He is a 2x Pro-Bowler as well and has only two seasons under his belt. The Rams are getting a solid piece in return for Garrett who is still playing under a rookie contract. Plus he is 25 years of age which is 5 years younger than Myles Garrett. The Browns in March also restructured Garret’s contract making him easier to trade. The restructuring will allow the Browns two seasons to spread his 41.09 million dollars in dead cap space on the salary cap instead of taking the hit in one season. The Browns also get two number 1 draft picks along with a 3rd. Let’s not forget Verse was picked in the first round. Now you have your draft capital back from the horrific deal acquiring the sexual predator, Deshaun Watson, back in 2022 from Houston. Watson has been terrible most of the time since he came from Cleveland. He has missed a ton of games with season ending injuries. Plus he’s a cancer in the locker room. Then you still hear about more sexual assault cases against him popping up. Hopefully Cleveland can use one of those draft picks and find a QB. Next year’s draft will be loaded with QB talent.

When the Rams won their last Superbowl, they had that one player on that defense who was a game wrecker. Aaron Donald was a beast. He has been retired now for the last few seasons. The Rams defense was solid last year. By bringing in Myles Garrett they have that Donald, a guy that can change the game. He’s a QB killer who has 239 hits on the guy behind center in 9 seasons. If he does not record a sack he will let you know his presence is there. He’s a guy that can close out football games. Let’s face it, the Rams are all in. They have a veteran quarterback approaching 40 years of age in Matthew Stafford who has shown he is capable of still playing at a high level. Last year the Rams went out and got another top receiver in the NFL, in Devante Adams. The Rams went all the way to the NFC Championship game and lost to a division rival, the Seattle Seahawks, who went on to dispose of the New England Patriots in the Superbowl. The Rams feel they need one more player to get them over the top of the mountain to get back to the Superbowl. The Rams feel they get more for their teams by trading their number 1 pick for talented veteran players. They have also acquired Von Mille and Jalen Ramsey in the past. This off-season they made a deal with the Chiefs for their all-pro corner back, Trent McDuffie, for some draft picks. The Rams actually used their number 1 pick this season on a quarterback, Ty Simpson. This Rams team has one of the best coaches in the NFL, the young mind of Sean McVay. Then next year’s Superbowl is in LA. The Rams could do their version of Tom Brady and the Buccaneers, and host the Superbowl in their own stadium. The Rams before the trade landing Garrett, had good odds by Las Vegas to win next year’s big game. Now they should be the lead horse in the race to win next year’s Superbowl. In my opinion this looks like a solid trade for both teams. Cleveland is not getting to the Superbowl any time soon as they need to rebuild that roster. The Rams have done this before and made the big move to put themselves in the best position possible. You can really say, “CHECKMATE!!”