Two days before the start of the 2023 NFL draft, Rams GM Les Snead and head coach Sean McVay met with media members to discuss the team’s draft plans – sort of. They were careful not to tip their hand as to which prospects they’ll be targeting or which positions will be top priorities, but we did gain some insight into their view of the draft and current roster.
Snead made it clear that the Rams don’t plan to have a shot at the top five quarterbacks in the class, while McVay insinuated that the team likes the depth it has on the offensive line.
Here are five draft notes from their pre-draft press conference on Tuesday.
1
Rams want to narrow the gap between Nos. 77 and 167
The Rams like the fact that they have 11 picks, but some in the building don’t love that there’s a 90-pick gap between the team’s pick at No. 77 and 167 in the fifth round. Snead typically likes to trade back and accumulate picks in the draft but he wouldn’t rule out a trade up from No. 167 to an earlier pick in order to narrow that 90-spot gap.
“It’s interesting. I think a lot of people on our staff would love for us to at some point move back to cover some of that gap and get in between maybe our 77th pick and whatever the first pick in the fifth round is, but that’s still to be determined,” Snead said. “That’s definitely always an option. It’s always a beneficial option based on accumulating more picks, maybe filling that gap. But you can always trade up too from the fifth round into those gaps so there’s many ways to accomplish that. And at the end of the day, it’s going to be, ‘Hey, when we get on the clock is there a trade partner? Is there not? Is there a player in that moment that we really feel good about and we want to make a Ram?’”
2
They like the offensive linemen they have
Remember in 2021 when everyone though the Rams would prioritize the offensive line after a disastrous 2020 campaign and then they proceeded to ignore the position completely in the draft? This year could feature a similar approach.
As concerning as the Rams’ offensive line is heading into the 2023 season, McVay says they like the guys they have. He specifically mentioned Tremayne Anchrum Jr. and Logan Bruss as players who are returning from injuries and could get a better opportunity to contribute in 2023.
The Rams have depth along the offensive line, they’re just lacking top-end talent at spots like guard and center. That could lead the Rams to deprioritize the O-line and focus on other positions that will help them more immediately.
“I think really what it boils down to is there’s a lot of different things that we feel like, positions particularly, that are going to upgrade our football team,” McVay said. “So I think it’s kind of having the agility throughout the course of the Draft and being able to adapt and adjust accordingly because of some of those things that enables that flexibility because of some of the picks that was alluded to. So obviously that’s an important thing, but I do think there are some guys, like you mentioned, that you’d love to be able to see them get more of an opportunity to be evaluated based on how small their resumes are based on opportunities. You think about a Tremayne Anchrum and you think about a Logan Bruss, guys like that. And then there’s a handful of guys that have accumulated experience that if they stay healthy, very similar to our 2019 going into 2020, you get better because you have conscientious guys. And so being able to have a give and take, but there’s a lot of different things that we’ll look to do to upgrade our football team and in a lot of positions that will be addressed in that regard.”
3
Rams don’t feel pressed to fill roster with UDFAs
At the moment, the Rams have 44 players on the offseason roster, which is the fewest in the NFL. They can carry up to 90 until final roster cuts are made in September, but filling the roster completely will be difficult.
One (cheap) way to do that is by signing undrafted rookies when the draft concludes. However, even with all the holes the Rams need to fill, they’re not just going to go out and sign every undrafted free agent available.
They’re going to remain calculated and utilize a plan they’ve deployed in the past. In addition to undrafted rookies, the Rams will look to other free agents, roster cuts and maybe even XFL and USFL players.
McVay even said that just because the Rams can carry 90 players doesn’t mean they will so don’t be surprised if they remain below the limit throughout the summer.
“I think I’ve tried to caution everyone in the building to approach the process the same in that just because we have more numbers to sign doesn’t mean there’s automatically going to be more good players right after the draft,” Snead said. “So stick to doing what we’ve done, sign players that we think can add competition to our roster. And at that point in time, there’s many ways right after the Draft, other teams will maybe cut players when they sign or fill up their roster with new players. That’s an avenue to have open to continue filling slots. You got XFL, you have USFL, you have some of those leagues, and then that process goes on into the summer. So yes, you’re exactly right. We’ve got a lot of numbers to fill, doesn’t mean we have to get all those numbers filled on Saturday night. So if we approach it patiently and with intent, then by the time we get to training camp, we’ll probably have done our job.”
4
Rams are looking at Tier 2 quarterbacks, not the top 5 guys
The Rams are picking 36th overall, which obviously keeps them out of the range of the top quarterbacks in the draft – the Bryce Youngs, C.J. Strouds, Anthony Richardsons and Will Levises. There’s a chance they could look at a player like Hendon Hooker, but Snead believes even he will go earlier than the Rams’ pick at No. 36.
As a result, the Rams are looking at the second tier of quarterbacks beyond the top five guys. He knows they need to add another quarterback with Matthew Stafford being the only one on the roster, but picking a future starter in the draft – especially outside the first round – is a huge challenge.
“Because of the situation of the void, we’ve definitely been intentional about, if you want to call it the second tier and those players that would probably be beyond the four, even a fifth one now in Tennessee is talked about a lot going early, going before us, things like that,” Snead said. “But no different than every year it’s quarterbacks are, ‘Wow, it’s a very interesting eval’ because there’s this element or tier that you’re thinking, ‘Okay, it’s going to change the world, it’s going to be the franchise and wow, the pressure those young men have,’ and you just want them to get in the right situation and be able to evolve, naturally progress because it’s a tough, tough, job, a great job we’d all like to have. And then there’s that next tier that you just never know. For whatever reason, you don’t have them in Tier 1, but they have just enough of some tier one-type variables that you go, ‘Wow, they might be a Tier 2, they might have a chance to be a backup, they might have a chance.’ I think the thing we would say if I kept it simple is if that player had a chance to play, could Sean and his staff, could our team as a collection actually win, be competitive while the starter is missing time for whatever reason? And definitely hard to predict because what’s very interesting is every quarterback in this draft was very, very good at his respective school (and) probably dominated college football at some level.”
5
Versatility is key for defensive line prospects
When the Rams target defensive linemen in this draft class, they’re going to look for versatile prospects. That’s not particularly surprising because they lost their starting nose tackle and defensive end, so Aaron Donald is the only starter remaining.
The Rams like to move guys around up front to create mismatches, and they often deploy different groups on first/second down and third down. Fortunately, there are a lot of versatile D-linemen in this class, including Northwestern’s Adetomiwa Adebawore, USC’s Tuli Tuipulotu and South Carolina’s Zacch Pickens.
“At the end of the day, versatility is important. Each of the three defensive linemen, especially in base, they have a specific job description,” Snead said. “What you try to do from a draft perspective is sometimes you’re going to talk about first, second down, the normal downs and distances where you’re going to have a mix of run and pass. There’s a job description of the defensive linemen, and do some of the players in this year’s draft have those superpowers that that fit those job descriptions? Then when you get to the more known passing situations, you go to four down linemen, usually it’s only two interior defensive linemen versus three, you’re going to tilt a little more. Do you have a little more juice to rush the passer? Sometimes you’ve got to make subs and sometimes you get fortunate and you can keep the same player on the field like we’ve probably done with (Aaron Donald) for many years. But sometimes you’ve got to do it by committee, sometimes you get fortunate and have a player who’s a little more complete than others.”
