Smart trades can keep the good teams on top, and dumb trades can keep the bad teams on the bottom, and a trade the Rams and Falcons made on draft day is looking like a good example of that.

While they were on the clock on draft day, the Rams agreed to send their first-round pick to the Falcons in a trade that included the Falcons’ 2026 first-round pick going to the Rams. The Falcons wanted defensive end James Pearce badly enough that they were willing to give up a lot to get the Rams’ first-round pick, No. 26 overall, and draft Pearce.

Perhaps at the time, the Falcons thought Pearce could be the last piece of the puzzle as they constructed a playoff team. But that hasn’t happened. Pearce has been a part-time player while recording 2.5 sacks this season, and the Falcons are 3-7 and nowher

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