LA Rams trade history: Grading every deal under Les Snead since 2017

From Sammy Watkins to Von Miller; the story of every trade of the Sean McVay era

In the days prior to close of the NFL trade deadline, Les Snead and the Los Angeles Rams made a flurry of moves, completing trades, both blockbuster and minor, signings and releases.

Taking a break In between the wake of the disappointing loss to the Tennessee Titans and preparation for the upcoming game with the dreaded San Francisco 49ers, here’s a tracking and grading of not only last week’s moves, but ALL of Snead’s trades since joining forces with Sean McVay in 2017.

2021

1. Acquired OLB Von Miller from the Denver Broncos for 2022 2nd and 3rd round picks.
2. Sent ILB Kenny Young and a 2024 7th rounder to the Broncos for a ‘24 6th.
3. Traded a ‘22 6th and 2023 4th for RB Sony Michel.
4. Moved DT Michael Brockers to the Detroit Lions for a 2023 7th.
5. Gained QB Matthew Stafford from Detroit for Jared Goff, #101, and 1st’s in ‘22 and ‘23.
6. Traded back from #88 to #117 (DT Bobby Brown) and #121 with the San Francisco 49ers.
7. Swapped #121 and #209 to the Jacksonville Jaguars for #130 (CB Robert Rochell), #170, and #249 (Ben Skowronek). This move is in tandem with and completes the 2019 Jalen Ramsey trade.
8. Moved back from #170 to #179 (DL Earnest Brown) and #231 (Jake Funk) with the Houston Texans.

A+ Go to the head of the class. By any measure, these moves are outstanding. The blockbuster acquisitions of Stafford and Miller alone raise the Ram talent level, arguably, to the best in the NFL. Michel has been a good RB2 and Skowronek has a the chance to break out as WR4. Rochell, although a little shaky, looks like he only needs seasoning to make a tangible contribution. With the injury to Sebastian Joseph-Day, At some point, Brown will certainly get some snaps at nose tackle. Young was given away, most likely as an unofficial part of the Von Miller trade.

2020

1. Moved Brandin Cooks and a ‘22 4th to the Texans for #57 (WR Van Jefferson).
2. Traded #126 to the Texans for #136 (TE Brycen Hopkins), #248 (K Sam Sloman), and #250 (OL Tremayne Anchrum).

C+ Pretty quiet for Trader Les. The decision to stand pat during the whole covid situation was a smart move, not one person could say that the whole season wasn’t in jeopardy. Snead likes to move around in the draft, but the loss of much of the college season, no combine or pro days, the cancelation of OTA’s and rookie camps left many NFL teams being conservative in personnel moves and draft position swaps. VanJeff looks like he will be a fixture on the Ram offense, but Sloman is gone and Hopkins and Anchrum haven’t impressed enough to earn many snaps.

2019

1. Swapped a ‘21 5th to the Cleveland Browns for C Austin Corbett.
2. Sent Marcus Peters to the Baltimore Ravens for ILB Kenny Young and a ‘20 5th.
3. Garnered CB Jalen Ramsey from Jacksonville for ‘20 and ‘21 1st’s and a ‘21 4th
4. Traded Aqib Talib and a ‘20 5th for a ‘22 7th.
5. Traded #31 and #203 to the Atlanta Falcons for #45 and #79 (CB David Long).
6. LA turned around and traded #45 to the New England Patriots for #56 and #101.
7. Rams then swapped #56 to the Kansas City Chiefs for #61 (S Taylor Rapp) and #167.
8. Picks #94 and #99 were exchanged with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for #70 (RB Darrell Henderson).
9. LA traded up again using #101 and #133 to take New England’s #97 (OL Bobby Evans) and #162.
10. Another move with the Pats added #134 (NT Greg Gaines) and #243 (S Nick Scott) for picks #162 and #167.

A- Adding Ramsey was the lynch pin for the Rams second revival under the Snead/McVay regime. Peters never seemed comfortable in the Rams defensive scheme and Talib didn’t have much left in the tank. Corbett has been solid. Henderson and Gaines have contributed good value as rotational players, and this season, have been thrust into bigger roles. Rapp has made mistakes but is an aggressive tackler and continues as a starter. Scott and Long are capable backups. Young flashed some potential but never lived up to it.

2018

1. Dealt Robert Quinn and #209 to Miami for #111 ( C Brian Allen) and #183.
2. Added CB Marcus Peters and #209 from Kansas City Chiefs for #124 and ‘19 #63.
3. Sent Greg Robinson to Detroit for #194.
4. Acquired WR Brandin Cooks and #136 from the Patriots for #23 and #198.
5. Moved Alec Ogletree and ‘19 7th to the New York Giants for #85 (DT John Franklin-Myers) and #176 (RB John Kelly)
6. Bartered Tavon Austin to the Dallas Cowboys for #192 (OL Jamil Demby).
7. Grabbed OLB Dante Fowler from the Jags for a ‘19 3rd and a ‘20 5th.
8. Received CB Aqib Talib from Denver for #160.
9. The Broncos then turned around traded #160 (Ogbonnia Okoronkwo) back to Rams for picks #183 and #217.
10. Traded back from #87 to Las Vegas Raiders for #89 (OL Joe Noteboom) and #217.
11. Exchanged #194 to Atlanta for #244 (OLB Justin Lawler) and #256.
12. Moved back again from #136 to Carolina Panthers for #147 (ILB Micah Kiser) and #197.
13. Rams then flipped #197 and #256 to Washington for #205 (OLB Trevon Young) and #231 (ILB Travin Howard).

B+ At first look, the additions of Peters, Cooks, Talib and Fowler would seem deserving of a higher grade. Fowler had two good seasons and Cooks started out hot before being derailed by concussions, but Peters and Talib, although solid, didn’t dominate as expected. In this draft, you can really notice how Snead makes subtle trade moves to target players on his want list. Allen is playing very well this season and Okoronkwo and Noteboom have added value filling in for injuries. Lawler, Kiser, and Howard have struggled with injuries.

2017

1. Sent Greg Robinson to Detroit for a ‘18 6th.
2. Swapped Chris Givens to Baltimore for #234 (OLB Ejuan Price).
3. Traded William Hays to the Dolphins for #193 (RB Sam Rogers).
4. Acquired TE Derek Carrier from Washington for a ‘18 7th.
5. Added WR Sammy Watkins and an ‘18 6th for E.J. Gaines and an ‘18 2nd.
6. Bartered #37 and #149 to Buffalo Bills for #44 (TE Gerald Everett) and #91 (S John Johnson).
7. Trafficked #112 to Bears for #117 (WR Josh Reynolds) and #197.
8. Packaged #197 and #141 to New York Jets for #125 (OLB Samson Ebukam).

C+ The first Snead/McVay season was mostly about cleaning out the dead wood from the Fisher era and they didn’t have a lot of draft capital after the Jared Goff trade. Many of the players couldn’t garner much, if any trade value and were cut outright. The biggest addition of Watkins turned out to be more smoke than sizzle. Johnson was a solid player. Everett, Reynolds, and Ebukam added rotational value. But overall, these moves seem average.

Overall

A solid B+ bordering on A- With five seasons under their belts, Snead and McVay have shown the ability to make both supernova and subtle moves for the betterment of the Rams. Sure, there are some misses, but they have the awareness to not double-down on the bad moves, and are willing to cut bait and move on from them.