Rams Trade for Lions CB Jeff Okudah Rumor: What Would No. 3 Overall Pick Cost?

Jeff Okudah's upside is still in play - more likely to succeed in the NFL than a coming third-round player - and in a Rams trade they'd have contractual control with two seasons remaining on his rookie deal.

Can the Los Angeles Rams be "remodeling'' while still making noteworthy additions?

One rumor has the Detroit Lions - famously a Rams trade partner when Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff switched cities - showing a willingness to move on from cornerback Jeff Okudah.

Okudah arrived in Detroit amid gigantic expectations as he was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. He's coming off a solid third season after dealing with injuries early on, including having ruptured his Achilles in Week 1 of the 2021 season.

Los Angeles is revamping its secondary, mostly for financial reasons, having traded cornerback Jalen Ramsey to the Miami Dolphins while also losing safeties Nick Scott and Taylor Rapp in free agency.

Rams head coach Sean McVay and his front-office cohorts have, in one form or another, acknowledged the "remodeling'' theme. But that doesn't mean LA is forfeiting 2023. The 11 draft picks in the 2023 NFL Draft could allow the Rams to load up with kids ... but those picks can also allow the team to go shopping on the trade market.

Why would the Lions listen? The Lions this offseason signed Cameron Sutton and Emmanuel Moseley and C.J. Gardner-Johnson. That means somebody there is likely to be expendable.

It's being speculated that a trade between the Rams and Lions might be about a third-round pick and change. Is that enough to get a deal done? We don't know that. But Okudah is still on a rookie contract and L.A. has "picks to spare,'' if the Rams choose to look at it that way.

Okudah's upside is still in play - more likely to succeed in the NFL than a coming third-round player - and his team would have contractual control with two seasons remaining on his rookie deal. It's a way to "remodel'' without giving up ... a way to "remodel'' upward.

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