The Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals will face off in this year’s Super Bowl. The two teams are led by top overall picks at quarterback but have gotten to the big game in ways that are unique compared to the common assumption about how good teams are built in the NFL.
The Cleveland Browns have tried a myriad of ways to build a team with their most success, in decades, coming in the last two years. With one playoff appearance and victory during that time, that success has been far from the highest levels.
Outside of having top overall picks at quarterback, something the Browns share with the two Super Bowl participants, the Rams and Bengals have done things differently than most expect when talking about true championship-level contenders.
Los Angeles has traded pick after pick to add to their roster of superstars. While they have also drafted well with the selections they have had, the Rams use of draft capital has mimicked the NBA more than the modern NFL. Teams are not supposed to be able to win while dealing away valuable picks of players who are on cheap contracts for veteran players on more expensive deals.
Los Angeles is in the Super Bowl after going as all in as they could year after year. Their trade for Matthew Stafford took them over the top and will lead to many “Cleveland (or a few other teams) is a Stafford trade away” conversations.
The Rams way is not the way teams have succeeded in the NFL but it has worked for them.
The Bengals way is also unusual. Two years ago, Cincinnati was the worst team in the league. Since then, the drafting of Joe Burrow and a few shrewd free agent moves have quickly built a quality roster.
Normally, teams don’t improve that quickly. That isn’t the NFL way, generally. If teams do improve that quickly, normally it is due to a veteran quarterback addition (Tom Brady to Tampa Bay), the return of a key player from injury or a huge influx of free agents. The Bengals didn’t have any of that.
Cincinnati also built their roster going against a few other key NFL “requirements.” First, the front office is quite small compared to the rest of the NFL without many of the frills associated with scouting in today’s league. Second, in the 2021 NFL draft the Bengals chose a receiver over an offensive lineman. While Ja’Marr Chase has proven to be great, traditional NFL thinking would have had them draft Penei Sewell, another blue-chip prospect.
Los Angeles and Cincinnati are in the Super Bowl despite rebuking some, not all, of the long-standing tenants of building a team in the modern NFL. Are they exceptions to the rule or could Cleveland and the rest of the NFL learn something about going against common beliefs to create a Super Bowl participant?
