Rams take Wisconsin guard Bruss with their first selection
The Rams knew what they needed most in the NFL draft. And just as important, they knew where to find it.
The result was the Rams using their long-awaited first pick in the draft on Friday night to take guard Logan Bruss, yet another offensive lineman from Wisconsin.
Bruss will join a line that includes left guard David Edwards and right tackle Rob Havenstein, two Wisconsin products who started as Rams rookies.
“He’s going to come in immediately, and he’s going to compete to start at right guard,” Rams coach Sean McVay said.
Bruss, a 6-foot-5, 309-pounder who was second-team All-Big Ten as a senior, had college experience at tackle as well as guard.
“I think that diversity makes me valuable in a lot of ways,” Bruss said on Zoom from his native Appleton, Wisc. “I definitely think that’s (starting) something I can do.”
The Rams’ only pick of the draft’s first two days, the 104th overall near the end of the third round, came after the team sat out the first and second rounds because it traded those choices.
There was a chance the Rams would trade the 104th to a team looking to move up, in exchange for multiple picks lower in the draft. Stockpiling mid- and low-round picks has been a frequent strategy for General
Logan Bruss, out of Wisconsin, was the first pick by the Rams on Day 2of the NFL draft.
Manager Les Snead. Snead made trades during the draft nine times in the past 10 years.
Snead said he received phone calls from teams looking to trade up, but taking Bruss was too attractive to pass up.
Rams scout Brian Hill was so excited that he followed through on a promise to jump in the pool at the Rams’ “draft house” in the Hollywood Hills if Bruss was still available at No. 104.
The pick shored up one of the positions that became higher draft priorities after some early offseason departures.
At each of those positions, the Rams have said they already had at least adequate replacements on the roster: Coleman Shelton or Tremayne Anchrum for right guard Austin Corbett, who signed with the Carolina Panthers. Joe Noteboom for left tackle Andrew Whitworth, who retired. Justin Hollins for outside linebacker Von
Miller, who got a big contract with the Buffalo Bills. Robert Rochell for cornerback Darious Williams, gone to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
But Bruss could jump over Shelton and Anchrum in the race to succeed Corbett.
Picks in the 104th-and-lower range have produced several regular starters for the Rams before in McVay’s five seasons.
One of them was Edwards (169th pick in 2019), who started the last 10 games of his rookie season and remains a fixture on the line.
Bruss played with Edwards at Wisconsin and said the slightly older man took him under his wing, and Bruss reconnected with fellow Badgers Edwards and Havenstein when he came to Los Angeles to train for the NFL draft combine this winter.
“It was something they said might happen, and it turns out it happened,” Bruss said of the Rams drafting him. “It’s obviously crazy, and I’m really excited about it.”
The Rams like versatility in their offensive lineman. And everyone likes intelligence at those positions.
McVay said Edwards and Havenstein “couldn’t say enough good things about him.”
“Just the mental makeup, he’s our kind of guy,” McVay said. “You can really see this guy loves football. He’s a smart football player. He’s got great natural instincts and feel for the game.”
The 104th came to the Rams as a compensatory pick after college scouting director Brad Holmes left to be the Detroit Lions’ GM in 2021.