It is my hope that this amazing draft is not a complete outlier…

[Rams43]

I know we’re not gonna have 14 picks every year and certainly not 5 new starters alone plus a handful of quality contributors every year.

But I am hoping that Snead/McVay have tweaked their player draft requirements in such a way as to better select candidates that are true football players rather than athletic freaks or players with injury histories or attitudinal issues.

Such a slight perspective change might better reveal more players such as the likes of these kids:

KW
Avila
Puka
Young
Turner
Lake
Ethan Evans

And continuing the trend of brilliant trades and FA signings like these wouldn’t hurt, either:

Wentz (better late than never)
Dotson
Demarcus Robinson
Witherspoon
JJ
Ward

I would be remiss here if I didn’t include McVay’s brilliant offseason assistant coach hires one after another. Perhaps the most unsung positive moves of this very productive offseason.

Now, we can believe that perhaps Rams brain trust got unbelievably lucky this one year OR that perhaps Rams brain trust has evolved to the point that they are now tending to make better and better long term decisions. I believe both are true but I also believe that Rams are trending more toward the latter.

 

[VegasRam]

Probably some luck involved, but it's also a numbers game, and we had a lot of picks.
That said, love Snead andf always will, even if he CAN'T put a whole sentence togather.
I would also be curious as to the positional changes in the scouting department since Holmes left, and if there is any correlation.
But yeah, they kicked kicked ass this year.

 

[Merlin]

I'm of the mind that the Super Bowl Hangover season is going to benefit McVay & Snead for a while. It's no coincidence that they had their best draft following their worst season. Sometimes failure can push you to greater heights, if you're a resilient competitor which they certainly are.

 

[Ellard80]

remember - many people thought this rams team was going to be the worst in the nfl.

 

[AvengerRam]

I think 2022 was pretty good too.

No top 100 picks, and we still get KWill, Durant, Kendrick, Yeast and Lake.

 

[Kupped]

I think 2022 was pretty good too.

No top 100 picks, and we still get KWill, Durant, Kendrick, Yeast and Lake.

It’s certainly looking better every game.
Kyren is a legit stud.
Derion is playing very well..
I’d argue both are giving low second round value.

Yeast & Lake have both started and are, at worst, rotational value Safeties.

All guys with draft profiles that would fit with this year’s class.

Hard to know what Bruss may have become if he hadn’t destroyed his knee. We can all agree he was struggling before he got hurt.

But hitting that well in a draft class with only 8 picks and no picks until late in the 3rd?

Pretty good.

There’s still an x-factor with Durant.

 

[FrantikRam]

I think 2022 was pretty good too.

No top 100 picks, and we still get KWill, Durant, Kendrick, Yeast and Lake.

Nah garbage draft. Kendrick is terrible.....holding three straight teams to under 20 points? Psssh without him on the field teams wouldn't even have scored. Terrible pick by McVay and Snead. That 6th round pick could have gone toward a fullback that would clearly make our team better by being on the practice squad. But Kendrick......just an awful pick. What were they thinking?? Makes the whole draft null and void in my book.

 

[FrantikRam]

This draft is definitely an outlier. Three picks 3rd round or later have been "redrafted" as first round picks in Young, Turner and Puka by some media (....who are too quick on the whole redraft deal but it's fun to read when your team had an awesome draft).

That is not a realistic standard. 2022 is more realistic....and let's not forget that roughly 50% of all first round picks bust, so having one doesn't mean a draft will necessarily be better.

 

[Memento]

Nah garbage draft. Kendrick is terrible.....holding three straight teams to under 20 points? Psssh without him on the field teams wouldn't even have scored. Terrible pick by McVay and Snead. That 6th round pick could have gone toward a fullback that would clearly make our team better by being on the practice squad. But Kendrick......just an awful pick. What were they thinking?? Makes the whole draft null and void in my book.

You're missing your blue font. @oldnotdead might take you seriously.

(By the way, old, I'm not picking on you, I say this cheekily, out of love. Much love to you.)

Also not totally giving up hope on Logan Bruss here, and simultaneously riding the Warren McClendon bandwagon. Bruss had the misfortune of a really bad knee injury (they basically said he needed a whole new leg.) and is still recovering. And McClendon's college tape reminds me so much of Havenstein, it's not even funny.

I hope we bring Bruss and Zach Thomas back, and trade Allen and Noteboom for more picks. I wonder what Thomas could do at center; he's not strong enough to last at guard, but he's technically sound and smart.

Also have a lot of faith in Durant to turn things around.

 

[WestCoastRam]

Statistically, a draft like this is an outlier. But if this draft is a homerun, it's still possible for us to hit a triple or double next year.

So so many factors a team can't control goes into it. I will say, I've never had a huge critique of the Rams draft process in the past when it's come to McSnead.

I hope they keep up their process, make adjustments when needed.

 

[WestCoastRam]

I think 2022 was pretty good too.

No top 100 picks, and we still get KWill, Durant, Kendrick, Yeast and Lake.

Eeeeeeeeh. I guess you could argue we did the best we could without those top picks. Bruss takes the bus here. If KW can stay healthy and Lake can continue to ascend I'll be happy.

 

[Dodgersrf]

Statistically, a draft like this is an outlier. But if this draft is a homerun, it's still possible for us to hit a triple or double next year.

So so many factors a team can't control goes into it. I will say, I've never had a huge critique of the Rams draft process in the past when it's come to McSnead.

I hope they keep up their process, make adjustments when needed.

I’ve always been intrigued by how poorly they have drafted in the 2nd rnd, only to hit big in the later rounds.

 

[WestCoastRam]

I’ve always been intrigued by how poorly they have drafted in the 2nd rnd, only to hit big in the later rounds.

The 2nd round is like the Shanahan 49ers to them

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

I’ve always been intrigued by how poorly they have drafted in the 2nd rnd, only to hit big in the later rounds.

Some would argue that they’ve done well in round 2. I agree with you. I think the second round picks have not been as good as most would hope to get from a round two pick. Rapp was a strong safety. Solid SS can be found in lower rounds. Ditto with a RB like Akers, and receivers like Atwell, and Jefferson.

I hope that whatever the focus was (character/love of football/leadership) carries over to Snead’s drafts from here on out.

 

[FrantikRam]

Some would argue that they’ve done well in round 2. I agree with you. I think the second round picks have not been as good as most would hope to get from a round two pick. Rapp was a strong safety. Solid SS can be found in lower rounds. Ditto with a RB like Akers, and receivers like Atwell, and Jefferson.

I hope that whatever the focus was (character/love of football/leadership) carries over to Snead’s drafts from here on out.

A Super Bowl is a bit of a trump card/deal winner. If we don't win 12 games, we probably don't win it all. Without Van, do we win 12 games? He had 800 yards and 6 TDs, and was our primary deep threat for the season which likely at least helped open things up for Kupp. Akers wasn't great when he came back, but he did have a few catches and one good run on the final drive of the Super Bowl.

Going back to our Super Bowl appearance in 2018, Everett had one of the biggest catches and runs against the Saints in the NFCCG.

In a vacuum were those guys "good" second round picks? Probably not. But on a Super Bowl winning team (for Akers and Jefferson), better than not having them.

 

[Dodgersrf]

Some would argue that they’ve done well in round 2. I agree with you. I think the second round picks have not been as good as most would hope to get from a round two pick. Rapp was a strong safety. Solid SS can be found in lower rounds. Ditto with a RB like Akers, and receivers like Atwell, and Jefferson.

I hope that whatever the focus was (character/love of football/leadership) carries over to Snead’s drafts from here on out.

You can add guys like Gerald Everett and B Quick (Snead only)to that list.

I’m not calling Everett a bust. He’s still playing in this league.
I just don’t see him as anything special.

 

[LA_Rams_#29]

We've consistently drafted well ...sure there are some guys that didn't pan out.... there are some guys we drafted, won a super bowl with...then didn't bring back.

But this year is more of an example of us drafting well, and developing players than it being luck.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

A Super Bowl is a bit of a trump card/deal winner. If we don't win 12 games, we probably don't win it all. Without Van, do we win 12 games? He had 800 yards and 6 TDs, and was our primary deep threat for the season which likely at least helped open things up for Kupp. Akers wasn't great when he came back, but he did have a few catches and one good run on the final drive of the Super Bowl.

Going back to our Super Bowl appearance in 2018, Everett had one of the biggest catches and runs against the Saints in the NFCCG.

In a vacuum were those guys "good" second round picks? Probably not. But on a Super Bowl winning team (for Akers and Jefferson), better than not having them.

Well then it’s a good thing we had Wolford to run our scout team. It’s a good thing we had Bobby Evans to back up the Oline,…. Just because they were on the team that won a Super Bowl it doesn’t mean it was a good draft pick.

I’m guessing you are glad they have Tutu instead of an all-pro center. It’s a good thing Snead took Isaiah Pead instead of Bobby Wagner because we needed a runningback.

That sort of logic is a weak way to justify whether or not a draft pick was good.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

You can add guys like Gerald Everett and B Quick (Snead only)to that list.

I’m not calling Everett a bust. He’s still playing in this league.
I just don’t see him as anything special.

Yep. Several of the second round picks have been underwhelming. Two of the most famous- Pead and Watkins instead of Bobby Wagner and also the Tutu gaffe. It’s not like we could have used an all pro center.

 

[FrantikRam]

Well then it’s a good thing we had Wolford to run our scout team. It’s a good thing we had Bobby Evans to back up the Oline,…. Just because they were on the team that won a Super Bowl it doesn’t mean it was a good draft pick.

I’m guessing you are glad they have Tutu instead of an all-pro center. It’s a good thing Snead took Isaiah Pead instead of Bobby Wagner because we needed a runningback.

That sort of logic is a weak way to justify whether or not a draft pick was good.

I mean......there's a difference between Van Jefferson (800 yards/6 TDs in 2021 Super Bowl year) and Cam (almost singlehandedly won us games down the stretch, including a playoff game in 2020) than Bobby Evans. I thought that I pointed out that those guys actually contributed - throwing a bunch of true busts who had zero contribution to a winning team is.....not the same.

If you don't see that, I'm not sure what to tell you.