Rams Coach Jeff Fisher started the team’s press conference regarding its trade with the Titans for the No. 1 overall pick in the draft by saying that Rams general manager Les Snead initiated conversations about trading for the No. 1 pick with Titans general manager Jon Robinson at the NFL Scouting Combine in February.
Fisher also confirmed that the teams reached an agreement on the trade Wednesday but kept the news under wraps in deference to Kobe Bryant’s last game with the Los Angeles Lakers that was played Wednesday night.
More than six weeks of talks between the teams included the Rams holding private and secret workouts with both Carson Wentz and Jared Goff “in late February or early March,” Fisher said, as the Rams collected information on the draft’s top quarterbacks.
“We were the first ones in,” Fisher said.
As for which player the Rams will be picking, Fisher and Snead understandably offered no clues and said there are no plans to reveal their pick before the draft, which begins April 28, two weeks from tonight.
“There will be suspense leading all the way up,” Snead said. “It will be good for the networks.”
Snead said he felt the Titans were “willing” to trade for proper value in return and that he and Robinson had “snuck out of the suites” at the Scouting Combine to discuss possible parameters. Snead said that both teams decided last weekend that a potential deal needed to be done this week, and Fisher said a deal was finalized late Wednesday afternoon.
Earlier Thursday, Robinson said the Titans had a couple of other “solid offers” for the No. 1 pick.
After going from pick No. 15 to No. 1, Fisher was asked about making a splash as the team begins play in Los Angeles.
“This is the best thing for this football team now,” Fisher said. “But when you take into consideration what’s ahead for this team -- the enthusiasm, the excitement -- the timing couldn’t be better.”