Rams Net Myles Garrett Amid Quest to Sell Off as Many First-Rounders as Possible

By Matt Schauf | Updated on Mon, Jun 1 2026 6:41 PM UTC

The Rams are snagging Edge Myles Garrett while sending Edge Jared Verse, a 2027 first-round pick, a 2028 second-rounder, and a 2029 third to Cleveland, according to multiple reports. Assuming the Rams don’t acquire another first-round pick before next April, the 2027 draft will mark the ninth time in 11 years that they went without a Round 1 selection. Even this year found them trading their first-rounder to Kansas City for CB Trent McDuffie. (They used another acquired from Atlanta during last year’s draft to select QB Ty Simpson 13th overall.)

What They're Saying

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport: “The Browns were adamant about not trading Myles Garrett. But the Rams were persistent, calling and calling. When they included Jared Verse and adjusted the picks, it was on.”

ESPN’s Adam Schefter: “The Rams interest in Myles Garrett was sparked shortly after the Browns modified the contract of the seven-time Pro Bowl defensive end in March, pushing back the option bonuses from the 15th day of the league year in March to seven days before the start of the regular season, making it easier to trade him.”

2026 Fantasy Football Impact

The immediate fantasy impact here is probably smaller than the names suggest.

Influential IDPs are heading each direction, but Garrett and Verse will both go from one starting spot to another and likely see similar playing time. We’ll see whether Verse finds it any tougher to get to QBs in Cleveland, but he had already collected just 12 sacks over his first two seasons.

Traditional stats hide much of Verse’s pressure. His 45 QB hits over the past two seasons rank behind just 12 players and hint at more sack upside ahead. He also sits tied for 21st in the league in tackles for loss over that span.

Garrett leads that category and ranks second in QB hits, 20 behind leader Zach Allen (87) and 15 ahead of No. 3 (Nik Bonitto and Aidan Hutchinson tied at 52). Garrett collected 9.5 more sacks than anyone else in the league over the past two years.

Expect Garrett to remain an IDP stud, now in an even better spot to chase sacks. The more competitive Rams -- clearly in “win now” mode -- will almost certainly hold more leads than Cleveland. The Browns have tallied 38+ sacks in all nine seasons since HC Sean McVay arrived, averaging 45.1 per year.

Verse, meanwhile, remains a promising 25-year-old joining another solid defense (eighth in defensive DVOA last year) on a team that now has two first-round picks in 2027.

Matt Schauf, Editor

Matt has earned two Fantasy Pros accuracy awards for IDP rankings and won thousands of dollars as a player across best ball, dynasty, and high-stakes fantasy formats. He has been creating fantasy football content for more than 20 years, with work featured by Sporting News, Rotoworld, Athlon, Sirius XM, and others. He's been with Draft Sharks since 2011.