Well, that was certainly unexpected.
When the Patriots selected guard Cole Strange with the 29th overall pick in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft on Thursday night, the move came as a surprise to many — and specifically the Rams hierarchy.
“Cole Strange just went,” head coach Sean McVay said during a press conference, with general manager Les Snead responding, “Oh my, UT-Chattanooga to the first round.”
McVay’s candid reaction didn’t stop there.
“How ’bout that, and we wasted our time watching him thinking he’d be at 104, baby,” McVay said, igniting a roar of laughter from the crowd.
The Rams, fresh off their Super Bowl win over the Bengals in February, won’t make their first selection in this year’s draft until the third round. They traded this year’s first-round pick to the Lions in a January 2021 blockbuster acquisition of quarterback Matthew Stafford.
Before Strange was selected by New England, he had been linked to the Rams back in March as a potential fit.
