Rams are winning the trade vs. Titans – but there doesn't have to be a loser

Joe Rexrode, USA TODAY NETWORK -- Tennessee Published 7:00 a.m. CT Dec. 25, 2017

Joe Rexrode and Jason Wolf explain how this loss to the Rams makes the Titans' NFL playoff push that much harder. Autumn Allison|USA TODAY NETWORK-Tennessee

The assets involved did not need to be on the same field together to make this call, but Sunday helped hammer it home: The Los Angeles Rams are winning the trade.

As long as Jared Goff continues to play like the cornerstone quarterback he has become, that will be true. This does not mean the Titans made a mistake – these transactions are designed to benefit both sides, and the monster deal these franchises made before the 2016 draft is doing that. But if we must give a scoreboard update, in the wake of the Rams’ 27-23 win over the Titans on Sunday at Nissan Stadium, it’s the Rams with a first-quarter lead.

If either team wins a Super Bowl in the next few years, we can call it. If both do, we can call it one of the most mutually beneficial NFL trades on record. If neither do, it will largely come down to Goff’s career compared with Marcus Mariota’s. Though Mariota has had a rough third season featuring a major step back statistically, he’s one Sunday win over the Jaguars away from leading the Titans to their first playoff appearance since 2008.

Mariota was not part of the deal, but his rookie season of 2015 was promising enough to encourage Titans general manager Jon Robinson – then new on the job – to trade the No. 1 overall pick for a roster-building haul. Robinson wasn’t really in position to doubt Mariota at the time, but if the Hall of Fame some day welcomes Goff and/or Carson Wentz (who went No. 2 to the Eagles and starred immediately) and not Mariota, Titans fans will rue the move.

But given the information available at the time, Robinson had to make it. Most of his resulting selections are still under review, and a couple of them are going to have a big say in where this team goes in the next few years.

He sent No. 1 overall, plus picks in the fourth and sixth round that year, for No. 15 overall, two second-round picks and a third-round pick in that draft, plus a first-round pick and third-round pick in 2017. The Rams went with Goff – and as he sat most of last season, then struggled when he did play as coach Jeff Fisher was fired late in the season, there was much talk of Robinson “fleecing” Rams GM Les Snead.

Not anymore. Goff has been tremendous this season in Sean McVay’s offense, with a rebuilt offensive line, revamped receiving corps and MVP candidate at running back in Todd Gurley. The Rams also ended up with Pro Bowl return man Pharoh Cooper and two players who haven’t made an impact, tight end Temarrick Hemingway and receiver Mike Thomas.

Here’s the list of Titans additions resulting from the deal (some of them acquired after subsequent pick swapping): right tackle Jack Conklin, receiver Corey Davis, running back Derrick Henry, defensive lineman Austin Johnson, tight end Jonnu Smith, and cornerbacks LeShaun Sims and Kalan Reed.

Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) walks off the field after the team's, 27-23 loss to the Rams at Nissan Stadium Sunday, Dec. 24, 2017 in Nashville, Tenn. George Walker IV / Tennessean.com

Rams are winning the trade vs. Titans – but there doesn't have to be a loser

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