TST staff debates what the Rams ‘draft super power’ is under Les Snead

What do the Rams do better than any other team in the NFL when it comes to the draft?

The Los Angeles Rams are one of the most unique teams in the NFL, which is different than saying that any franchise is “unique”. Yes, all franchises are unique in that people are unique, but the Rams are more than just a team that has different details and specifics than the Cardinals, Giants, or Jaguars. They’re built different, they operate different, they’re the kid in high school who nobody will forget whether you like them or not. Whether you respect their individualism or think it’s a cry for attention.

Nobody can deny that the L.A. Rams stand out from the crowd, whether that’s trades, free agency, coaching decisions, or the draft.

This is a franchise that has moved three times, and like a lot of actors who I know, twice to Los Angeles. The Rams haven’t made a first round pick in eight years and don’t be so sure that general manager Les Snead isn’t itching to go for nine. The team will trade anyone (except for maybe Puka Nacua) and trade for anyone (except for maybe Allen Robinson). For years under Snead, the Rams made the most moves and could make the playoffs. Last year, the Rams made the fewest moves of any team in the offseason and still made the playoffs.

Once you’ve think you’ve got them figured out, you realize you can’t figure them out. In a week you’ll be saying “I got it, the Rams won’t pick in the first round!” and then ten days later watch Snead trade up into the top-5.

The only thing to solve is that the puzzle is unsolvable.

Sometimes these moves work, sometimes they don’t, but certainly we can identify key differences between strategies of the L.A. Rams and the other 31 teams. On Sunday, I shared the first in a series of questions I sent to Turf Show Times writers about the draft. Here is part two.

Question: What is Les Snead’s DRAFT SUPER POWER? What’s the thing that gives the Rams a competitive advantage in the draft under Snead?

Evan Craig:

“Snead’s Spidey senses really tingle when it comes to picking prospects in the later rounds. Puka Nacua, Kyren Williams and Kobie Turner (only 3rd round but still late to me so it counts) were top contributors at their respective positions last season and they were all taken in the last two drafts. When you give away first-rounders like candy, you have to get creative and nail the later round picks which Snead has gotten quite good at lately.”

Jake Ellenbogen:

“No one is like Les Snead in the way he’s fine with making a big trade if he has to and that includes in the draft. He’s showed that he’s comfortable trading down or up and he’s used this to acquire talents like Kyren Williams among others. The idea of having a general manager who is fearless and will do whatever it takes if it makes sense to make a trade gives the Rams a supreme advantage.”

Blaine Grisak:

“Snead’s super power in the draft is that he is very adaptable. Whether it’s trading up or trading back, Snead keeps the draft very fluid which I believe benefits him. He rarely gets stuck trying to force a square peg in a round hole. He understands the value of picks and that the caliber of player in one spot may not be that much different than the caliber of player 15 spots down the draft board.”

Danny Stone:

“I recall a scene from when the Rams were doing like Hard Knocks or it may have been on Amazon, but either way the show covered the team moving to LA and towards the end we saw Jeff Fisher get fired and Sean McVay get hired. We also were able to see part of McVay’s first draft as a head coach. If my memory serves, in that draft the Rams landed Gerald Everett and Cooper Kupp. There’s a moment in the show where Snead lays out to McVay how part of the draft is going to go, so they can trade down, but still get their preferred picks. Snead ends up being right and it impresses McVay. Snead has been doing this so long that he has incredible insight and intuition with how the draft is going to go and what the other franchises may do. That’s invaluable.”

Kenneth Arthur:

“The gift of the Rams organization in the last decade is that the team doesn’t over-value any single draft pick but also doesn’t underrate the importance of all draft picks. Snead, which is also code for “Kevin Demoff, Tony Pastoors, the collective L.A. front office”, doesn’t freak out if the team isn’t going to draft one of the top-30 players and that’s basically how it has been since 2017. In that time, the team has gone to two Super Bowls, won one, and reached the playoffs three other seasons without using a first round pick in the draft. I’ve always agreed with the Rams that if you’re picking in the twenties, you’re getting about the same prospect you will find in the forties and fifties so if you can flip two of those for a player who went in the top-10 (Jalen Ramsey, Matthew Stafford) then you’re doing the right thing.

The Rams took 14 shots in the draft last year and that’s the only reason they have Puka Nacua. If the Rams didn’t get Puka Nacua and had the 13 other prospects, we’d be talking about the class as “nice” instead being the best of the year. L.A. didn’t know how good they had it when they picked Puka, which is why all 14 picks are important, not just one. I expect the team to turn their 11 picks into even more picks this month.”