LOS ANGELES ( Associated Press) — The Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams showed fashion Friday night to make their first pick in the NFL draft, catching Wisconsin offensive lineman Logan Bruce in the back of the third round.
The Rams used their 104th pick overall to get Bruce, a Hawking linesman who played mostly perfect tackle for the Badgers.
He would be an immediate candidate for the Champs to start on right guard after Austin Corbett moved to Carolina in free agency. He is the third Wisconsin product on the Rams’ offensive line, which includes two starts: right tackle Rob Havenstein and left guard David Edwards.
Bruce said that Edwards showed him the ropes in his first season in Madison, and it’s notable to think he would do the same in Los Angeles.
The Rams were the last team to be selected in the three-day draft, after trading their first three selections in order to secure title-winning veteran talent.
They eventually joined the game using a compensatory pick – the 40th pick in the third round – given to them to lose to Detroit executive Brad Holmes.
The Rams didn’t make a first-round pick for the sixth consecutive season after the Rams traded their 2022 pick – and their 2023 pick – to Detroit for Matthew Stafford, which quickly propelled them to a championship. Los Angeles handed their second round and third round picks to Denver for the half-season rental of Von Miller, who played a major role in the title race.
The Rams will be busy on Saturday with seven picks in the final four rounds. General Manager Les Snead has a solid track record of finding key contributors behind the draft, and will have to be up to speed again with the title team’s many late contributors.
