Just not sure there is a lot of value in that. He's expected to get a contract in excess of $20m/year. The guy had 8 sacks last year. We got that out of 2 3rd round picks who we pay pennies in comparison. ... I'd MUCH rather take my chances on a guy at 19 then trade that away and pay a guy a massive contract.
My first thought (and 2nd and 3rd) was to agree with you but
@WestCoastRam may have something here.
There's a bunch of "IFs", and it's far from likely but maybe not Bat-Crap-Crazy. Here me out.
Edge is a huge need. The top free agents (Allen and Burns) figure to get tagged. Carolina could use some draft capital; and a mid-first round pick, plus cap space just might be enough for the Panthers to let Burns go.
I would love one of the top-three-OL but Alt, Fuaga and Fashanu all figure to be gone by #19.
Also a big fan (still early) of three DBs in Wiggins, Mitchell and DeJean but they could also be gone at #19.
The top Edge players (again, still very early) appear to be Latu, Turner, Verse, Robinson and Trice.
Personally, I like Turner but this group does not excite me as much as the above three OL and three DBs.
Now a foursome of Burns and Young at Edge, with Donald and Turner at DL seems fantastic to me.
Burns will be costly but the contract could be structured for a reasonable cap hit in years 1 and 2; and then jump-up when several of the Rams' current big contracts come-off-the-books.
Finally, there is age to consider. Despite playing five seasons,
Brian Burns will only be 26 in 2024.
Burns is actually
one month younger than Byron Young, and
just one year older than Kobie Turner.
Of course, it's unlikely but it's kind of fun to think about.