With Rams Holding Falcons' 2026 First-round Pick, The Two Teams Square Off In Week 17

Three weeks ago tonight, the Falcons traded back into round one to get pass rusher James Pearce Jr. The price to get the 26th overall selection from the Rams included Atlanta's 2026 first-round pick.

The better the Falcons are, the lower the pick. The worse they are, the higher it will be.

And here's where it gets interesting, thanks to the release of the official schedule. It was already known that the Falcons and Rams will play each other in 2025. It's now known that they'll square off on Monday night in Week 17.

Given the quality of the Rams' roster, the state of the rest of the NFC West, and the balance of the L.A. schedule in 2025, it's not crazy to think they'll have the division clinched by then. The Rams could even have the No. 1 seed nailed down by the time only 17 regular-season games remain to be played.

At one level, it would make sense to rest starters — which the Rams strategically did in Week 18 in 2024, even though it dropped them from the No. 3 seed to No. 4. At another level, handing a loss to the Falcons would push Atlanta's first-round pick even higher.

There's obvious value in that outcome. Look at what it cost the Jaguars to move from No. 5 to No. 2. If beating the Falcons could help boost the first-round pick the Rams already own even higher, advantage Rams.

It's the bizarro form of tanking. Instead of having an incentive to lose in order to get a higher pick, the Rams would have an incentive to win, in order to get a higher pick. And if they've otherwise put their playoff hay in the barn, it's the only incentive they'd have.

With division rivalries only in Week 18, it's the latest the Rams and Falcons could have played. Which gives that game the most clear connection possible to the collateral benefit of beating the Falcons.