The Rams' pro scouting has been impeccable to date.
At the draft, the Rams hit and miss like every other team.
But at the pro level, trading for and signing current NFL players, the Rams almost NEVER miss. Their success rate in terms of identifying pro level acquisitions that can excel in our system almost defies NFL reality, with almost *zero* busts. Take a look at the list below, just off hit top of my head. Almost all home runs. And of the players that produce as hoped, I would not label them as busts, just players that merely produced "okay".
- Woods.
- Whitworth.
- John Sullivan.
- Mark Barron.
- OBJ.
- Von Miller.
- Ramsey.
- CJ Anderson.
- Darious Williams.
- Floyd (though he has not looked so hot lately, he was a complete reclamation project at the time, and largely seen as a bust in Chicago).
- Stafford.
- Matt Gay.
- Talib.
- Fowler.
- Peters.
- Austin Corbett.
- Clay Matthews.
- Conor Barwin.
- Ashawn Robinson.
- Weddle*.
- Suh.
- Nickell Robey-Coleman.
- Sam Shields.
That is 20+ players.... all of them at least decent, most of them good to great.
I put a "*" beside Weddle's name, because he arguably was a bust the first time around, but his second stint in horns was a resounding success, so I consider it a wash and place him in the "okay" category.
It is for this reason I was convinced Robinson and Wagner would be decent contributors for us, if not huge assets. Robinson in particular I was expecting huge things from, with Kupp drawing lots of coverage and Robinson finally have a decent QB. So far, we have gotten very little from them, although it is early.
Our problems run too deep to be solely blaming any players individually, IMO.
But I also wonder, were Snead and McVay too busy with Super Bowl win festivities, or perhaps even coasting, this off-season? The no doubt endless hours they spend breaking down film, to identify if a player will fit here, excel here, if a player is washed or simply could benefit from a change of scenery.... did that occur in the 2022 off season?
Or did Snead and McVay get lazy post Super Bowl and just sign whoever was the biggest name?
We'll never know. But it is something I ponder.
The Rams' track record is so impeccable that two huge misses, all of a sudden, almost seems fishy, and it has shocked me to be honest...