Jalen Ramsey has plenty of reasons to be happy where he's at, entering his fifth season with the Rams after signing a $105 million extension in 2020 and winning a Super Bowl in 2021. But the star cornerback revealed this week that he once dreamed of playing for the Cowboys. Not only that, but that Dallas apparently broke a promise to draft him in 2016.
Joining Ryan Clark on "The Pivot Podcast," Ramsey said one of his top goals coming out of Florida State was to be the first defensive player selected in the 2016 draft. So the Chargers picking pass rusher Joey Bosa at No. 3 overall, after quarterbacks Jared Goff and Carson Wentz went first and second, respectively, was frustrating. Even more upsetting, however, was the Cowboys, at No. 4, choosing running back Ezekiel Elliott despite apparently hinting at a "dream" team-up in Dallas.
"I always grew up a Dallas Cowboys fan. So if I went to them fourth, that's a dream come true,'' he said, per The Dallas Morning News. "When I was on my visit to Dallas, they told me straight up to my face, 'If you're there at four, we're taking you. But, we don't think you're gonna be there at four.' They said, 'We think (the Chargers) are gonna get you at three, but if you're there at four, if you're on that board, we're taking you."
Elliott's draft-day table was positioned right next to Ramsey's, the cornerback explained, and his family saw the nearby camera crews zoom in on the Ohio State running back with Dallas on the clock.
"And then as soon as they announced his pick, my phone started ringing (with the) 904 (area code)," Ramsey said. "And I knew, right when my phone started ringing 904, it was Jacksonville. So, that's why I was mad. I was mad because I didn't go three or four."
Instead, Ramsey ended up with the Jaguars, for whom he played less than four full seasons. The All-Pro reportedly demanded a trade out of Jacksonville during the 2019 season, amid apparent disputes with team brass, and landed in Los Angeles as part of a blockbuster deal that October.
