The Rams took Cal QB Jared Goff with the No. 1 overall pick in Thursday's NFL Draft, and while Goff likely will be an "immediate star in a city that treasures them," Rams coach Jeff Fisher and GM Les Snead will "forever be tied to that star, even if, eventually, it falls back down to Earth," according to Ryan Kartje of the ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER. Goff will "enter next week’s rookie mini-camp as the presumptive quarterback of the future, the face of a new franchise." Given the number of draft picks required to make the trade with the Titans to get the No. 1 spot, the Rams' future "rests on Goff's shoulders." It is a "vulnerable feeling that will no doubt set in, as Goff deals with the inevitable growing pains of Year 1 in the NFL and questions about how the team brings along its new franchise star" (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 4/29). In L.A., Bill Plaschke writes Goff is the region's newest "rock star," and he appears to have the "savvy to be the face of a reborn franchise." Goff will be "walking into arguably the most pressurized situation for a rookie in this city's sports history." He will "be playing the glamour position, in this country's glamour league, for a franchise returning to this country's glamour city after a 22-year absence" (L.A. TIMES, 4/29).
PARTY OUT WEST: In L.A., Jack Wang reports roughly 3,600 fans attended a Rams' Draft party, packing themselves "into an open-air plaza at L.A. Live" on Thursday afternoon. Attendees had "won draft-party tickets, drawn from the 50,000 who submitted deposits for season tickets" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 4/29). USA TODAY's Jarrett Bell notes the Rams "are home again, and regardless of what we think about the NFL's revenue-making business and politics and the poor fans left without a team in St. Louis, they are welcomed by so many." Southern California contains Hollywood, beaches and "entertainment options galore." However, the Rams' party "took center stage as the place to be" on Thursday (USA TODAY, 4/29).
