The Los Angeles Rams were going to use their franchise tag one way or another and we found out how they would use it on Tuesday, with the team placing the tag on defensive back Lamarcus Joyner, preventing him from hitting free agency.

The tag options for the Rams came down to Joyner versus wide receiver Sammy Watkins and it was more or less about the cost involved with each. 

Watkins would have cost $16 million to tag, which was not a palatable number given his limited production after the Rams traded for him before the 2017 season and the presence of Cooper Kupp/Robert Woods. (Who would have thought Watkins would be the second-best receiver the Rams took from the Bills before the season?) 

Joyner will cost the Rams just $11.29 million to franchise tag at the safety position -- it's the right move given Joyner's age (27) and spike in production last year under new defensive coordinator Wade Phillips. A full-time move to free safety netted Joyner three interceptions, nine passes defensed and a touchdown scored on one of those picks. 

The Rams added Marcus Peters -- or will add, once the league year begins -- via a trade with the Chiefs and although they stand to lose Trumaine Johnson into free agency, will get Kayvon Webster back from injury, so should have the pieces in place to put a pretty dangerous secondary on the field.

It would be easier to fill Watkins production through the draft and free agency given what we've seen from Sean McVay's offense, and the Rams can still sign Watkins. They own exclusive negotiating rights with the former first-round pick through March 14.

Watkins is in a similar boat as Jaguars wide receiver Allen Robinson. Neither guy will get the tag and both receivers are just 24 years old, heading into a market where there is a lot of salary cap space on teams with wide receivers need, not a ton of elite talent in the free agency pool and what is considered a weak draft class.

We laid out the possible landing spots for Robinson here, and it would be safe to assume all those teams would have a large amount of interest in Watkins as well. Don't be surprised if the Carolina Panthers, Watkins "hometown team," pursue him fairly aggressively. But both the Bears and 49ers, each of whom have young quarterbacks, a need for wide receiver talent and tons of cap space, stand out as potential landing spots for Watkins, the first receiver drafted in a fairly historic class of 2014.