The Los Angeles Rams made a splash with the acquisition of former Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. at the trade deadline. It appears they have the departure of former wide receiver Sammy Watkins and cornerback Trumaine Johnson to thank for it.
The Rams parting ways with Johnson and Watkins this offseason was certainly not ideal given the investment Los Angeles made in them. However, according to Vincent Bonsignore of The Athletic, the Rams finally got to reap the benefits by exchanging those compensatory picks for Fowler:
Keep in mind there are comp picks coming back for Sammy Watkins and Trumaine Johnson for the '19 draft, at least one is expected to be a third. Maybe two. The comp third is what they'll use to complete this trade.
The development is intriguing, to say the least. The Rams had gone out on a limb last year by doing what they could to get both players on the team.
Los Angeles had been deadlocked in negotiations on a potential long-term contract for Johnson. However, their talks went nowhere as he played under two consecutive franchise tags before signing with the New York Jets. Meanwhile, the Rams gave up a second-round pick in order to bring Watkins in. Unfortunately, he underwhelmed during his brief stint in Los Angeles. However, he was still able to sign a rather lucrative deal with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Their departure was not ideal with all the voids in their personnel at the time. Fortunately, they have managed to get some return on their investment by giving up a 2019 third-round pick and 2020 fifth-round pick for Fowler.
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