Once upon a time, the Rams’ first, second and third concerns at any moment were the season in front of them. It was a strategy that bore fruit in the form of two Super Bowl appearances and the franchise’s first championship since moving back to Los Angeles.
But as much as the Rams enjoyed the reward of that all-in approach, they also suffered through the consequences of it a year later in a lost 2022 season riddled with injuries and existential crises. Just mention the year to anyone who was involved in it, particularly head coach Sean McVay, and their face will harden in an instant. Some variation of “Why would you mention that?” is the coach’s typical response in such moments.
Whether it is their experience with the carrot or the stick that provides more motivation to the franchise is an unanswered question. But the 2021 and 2022 seasons inform how the Rams have come to operate in the four years since, with the desire to win rivaled only by the refusal to experience such a hangover again.
Not that the Rams and general manager Les Snead are immune from a big swing. Look no further than last month when the team sent the No. 29 pick in this weekend’s NFL draft to the Chiefs for cornerback Trent McDuffie. But there’s a balance they try to walk between going for it all in the years that quarterback Matthew Stafford has left and sustainability.
How the Rams walk that line will be of interest during the draft. Particularly in the first two days when the Rams have the 13th overall pick – their highest selection since Jared Goff at No. 1 in 2016 – as well as Nos. 61 and 93.
Do the Rams use these picks on players with the clearest path to the field in 2026? Or ones might better serve long-term roster interests?
“The variable is always immediate, emergency or delayed,” Snead said in a Zoom press conference Tuesday. “Sometimes you might take someone and it’s a little bit for the future and you have unforeseen attrition due to injury and all of a sudden, the delay becomes the immediate. You’re always balancing that with every pick.”
The team has shown interest in adding a wide receiver, attending pro days and workouts for USC’s Makai Lemon and Arizona State’s Jordyn Tyson. The usually cagy Snead admitted Tuesday to enjoying, as the father of two Trojans, watching Lemon play, and admitted receiver could be a best-of-both-timelines pick in the first round.
But much of it is out of the Rams’ control.
“I would say receiver along with other positions would definitely be right for 13. But again, the sea will shape that pick and what happens before that pick will determine that,” Snead said. “Receivers is one, but there are other positions as well.”
An offensive lineman would be more of a forward-looking pick with Alaric Jackson and Warren McClendon under contract for two and one more year, respectively. But as 2022 proved, you can never rule out an injury along the offensive line, and the Rams could use another tackle to push David Quessenberry for the backup job.
There might be a shorter path to the field for defensive players. But as Snead pointed out, playing time is no guarantee for any rookie with the Rams.
“I do know is usually it is very hard for any rookie to come into an ecosystem like ours that has the efficacy,” the general manager explained. “We’re confident. We’ve won before so it’s hard for those players to come in and earn equity. Some do, some don’t. Like we mentioned earlier, there’s no timeline on anyone. We try to find players that give us an edge and then put them in the ecosystem. We let them earn equity and at the right time they’ll get on the field.”
Rams’ 2026 draft picks
1st round (No. 13 overall)
2nd round (No. 61 overall)
3rd round (No. 93 overall)
6th round (No. 207 overall)
7th round (No. 232 overall)
7th round (No. 251 overall)
7th round (No. 252 overall)