2019 NFL Mock Draft: Odell Beckham trade throws first round into chaos

Bringing back Dante Fowler doesn’t solve the Rams’ need of another edge rusher, as even with Fowler in the fold the team struggled to get consistent pressure off the edge. That was mitigated by Aaron Donald’s massive impact from the interior, though, as the defensive tackle led the NFL in sacks en route to winning another Defensive Player of the Year award.

Imagine how terrifying the Rams could be defensively if they had a couple of bookend edge rushers to bring pressure as well? Playing end with a player like Donald in the middle is a pass-rusher’s dream because you know you are going to constantly face one-on-one situations as Donald commands more than one blocker on every snap.

Florida’s Jachai Polite is a Top-20 talent in this class, but he saw his stock slip after some issues came up at the combine. He weighed in heavier than expected, which wouldn’t necessarily have been a bad thing if the weight he had packed on had been muscle. Instead, the added bad weight seemed to affect his explosiveness as his 40-time came in at an underwhelming 4.84.

His interviews were also mostly duds, and he left the combine with a reported hamstring injury, which is usually the go-to for prospects who are under-performing. Polite wasn’t afraid to air his frustrations with teams nitpicking his game, and those new-found character concerns to go along with his poor on-field workouts, could lead to him falling out of the first round.

One thing of interest at the combine was Polite spoke highly of his interview with the Rams, which could mean the team is enamored enough with him as a prospect to take him at the end of the first round. He could represent some excellent value this late in the first round. He’s got an array of pass rushing moves, and the Florida product could develop into one of the NFL’s most feared edge rushers in a couple of years if he puts the work in.