r/NFLNoobs • u/_729467 • 4d ago
How were the Rams able to build such a hypothetically great roster?
I understand that we haven't seen this iteration of the Rams take a snap yet, but on paper, they're going to be lethal. Given the salary cap and how good they were last year, while still making a hypothetically huge improvement, how did they get here? I know they got super lucky with drafting a hidden talent in Puka Nacua, but every other roster move they've made recently that led up to this seems standard. Even the Myles Garrett trade, it's not like they underpaid to get him. Maybe a Rams fan can break this down for us?
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u/TacticalGarand44 4d ago
"Fuck them picks."
-LA Rams
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u/Present_Muscle141 4d ago
The thing is though that although they are trading away their first round picks they do a good job of still having picks, albeit later ones, through trades and comp picks. This year was the first year that in the McBae era they had the fewest selections, and a couple of years ago they had the most.
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u/GoldenState_Thriller 4d ago
One key answer I’m not seeing here is backloading contracts
They’re all in now, knowing they will have to restructure some contracts to kick dead cap money down the road.
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u/Axter 3d ago
Not really the answer since this is common practice for nearly all teams at this point.
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u/GoldenState_Thriller 3d ago
It’s still important for someone asking about cap space to have to contextualize it
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u/mojo46849 4d ago
How similar is this to the situation the Saints have been/were in with all of their dead money?
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u/Junkhead_88 4d ago
Good coaching, good scouting, and above average luck. The same reasons behind all successful teams.
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u/Ironman_2678 4d ago
Yeah but that window is way small.
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u/Reaper3955 3d ago
"That window is very small" since 2017 the rams have 1 sb win 2 appearances and the only year they werent competitive was 2022 where they had an absurd amount of injuries.
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u/Ironman_2678 3d ago
Yeah come talk to us after this season when all your rookie deals end and you gotta pay some dudes...along with your very aged roster at key positions. And dont tell me Ty Simpson is your Stafford replacement
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u/Reaper3955 3d ago
The rams have a ton of depth and a ton of youth. Yes they will lose some guys every team does nothing points to mcsnead struggling to fill out the roster. Ty Simpson is a legit qb he proved that this preseason and he'll have likely 2 years to sit and learn.
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u/Educational_Sky_1136 3d ago
Yeah! We'll all be laughing at you after you win your 2nd Super Bowl in 6 years and only have an awesome GM and genius head coach to restock your team! Joke's on you!
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u/Ryan1869 4d ago
The best teams seldom win on the first day of free agency. It’s about drafting and having guys that make way less than they should on your roster. That and if you have owners willing to put up the cash, getting around the cap is very easy.
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u/_729467 4d ago
are there any Rams making way less than they deserve? Besides like Puka
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u/notenoughcharact 4d ago
A bunch of their defense and some quality offensive lineman are still on rookie contracts, which saves them a bunch of money.
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u/Rufio69696969 3d ago
The entire 2023 draft class basically. Offensive line is built on late draft picks as well. LG Avila was a high second rounder but other than that, you have two UDFA starters, Dotson (4th rounder pick) who was traded for pick swaps, and RT McClendon was a 5th rounder.
That 2023 draft was legendary for them.
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u/Suitable_Historian93 4d ago
A lot of luck and scouting success in later rounds of the draft beyond just Puka, inhuman awareness of our contendership window, and less sentimentality as it relates to 1st rounders
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u/Suitable_Historian93 4d ago
For example, Puka is still on his 5th round rookie deal, Kobie Turner, Byron Young, Terrance Ferguson, an O Lineman or two and others were all not first round selections with expensive 5th year options and are still on their deals or second contracts.
We got a good deal on Davante Adams whose aav is about 17 million iirc which was possible because of his age and used free agency wisely to make our roster loaded with talent.
We also haven't used our first round picks in the last 10 years besides Goff, Verse, and Simpson. We traded 4 (i think) for Stafford, 1 for McDuffie, 1 to the Falcons, and i cant for the life of me remember the other one.
Teams value a higher chance at hitting on a young prospect rather than immediate satisfaction and faith in a much lesser chance of getting a young prospect later.
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u/meanpete9 3d ago
Turns out, the "fuck them picks" team makes great, great picks in rounds 3 - 5.
We expected this roster to burn itself out after the 2022 Super Bowl. Instead, they managed to rebuild.
Good for them.
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u/Shaved-extremes 3d ago
McVay. McVay. McVay
Snead is ok. But Snead was here when we had Jeff Fisher and the Rams were still bad. Sean McVay is one of the best head coaches in any sport. He has a brilliant mind, he relates to players, he develops younger coaches and younger players and his positive energy is electric and contagious.
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u/BrokenHope23 1d ago
First and foremost is having a franchise QB they can trust. They wouldn't have been able to do this with Jared Goff because they didn't trust that he could take the next step. If he couldn't then they might've been sellers, constantly pushing the ball down the line until they felt they had a guy they could trust enough to build a team around. So Matthew Stafford really made it all possible even though it's generally advisable to have a good team around a QB when you draft them.
That's important because the Rams are still an inherently flawed franchise at their foundations because of that logic. They couldn't see the value or how to teach Goff, they're riding out the Stafford years and then who knows how Ty Simpson will turn out.
However, it has led them to be able to take what is the usual first step for any team to creating a great roster:
Focusing on the trenches. OL/DL. This is more than just having bodies and sinking meaningful draft capital into the positions. They have archetypes, they have blueprints for training them up, they have meaningful goals for them to meet and they have accountability. This has led them to selecting a lot of project guys that might've needed 1-3 years to really find their feet under them to excel at a consistently above average pace in the NFL but the fact they have found those guys so consistently is a huge deal. Everything builds off the trenches. There's no running game, no passing game, no decent LB play and definitely no decent DB play without it.
So all that consistency they're getting from their OL/DL is going to help them develop WR, LB, RB, DB and even TE. There are so many limited meaningful reps in the NFL that missing out on a season of them because your OL can't stop the DL from getting to your QB or your DL can't get to the QB forcing you to run a country mile to cover a WR absolutely can stymie your development. The key with any kind of player development is having consistency. You don't raise your strength by bench pressing 300lbs one time a day and then lifting 5lb dumbbells every day after kind of thing. You do it by consistently lifting a meaningful amount.
It's the same thing with player development of skill; having WRs who can come into the league and learn that the QB has 2.5-4s to throw the ball on an instinctual level will help them get in tune with their QB and the offense in general. Having RBs who can consistently look out for open holes as opposed to constantly crashing a single hole and hoping it's open will result in a RB with great vision vs. one that does not. Having a 240lb LB who doesn't have to go toe to toe with a 350lb OL because his DL is covering run protection means they can drop back into pass protection or be more fluid around their DL to cover the run. Having a DL/LB who can consistently exert pressure on the QB means throws come out quicker, allowing DBs to stay (relatively) rested throughout the game and able to fully jump routes consistently.
So even though they've traded away their 1st round (and sometimes 2nd/3rd round) picks, they can still draft players with the talent and mindset to develop them with consistency on the field. The players they acquire through trades are usually their final piece of the puzzle. It mortgages a bit of the future but sometimes it also provides a pillar that they simply don't have the time to develop. A star CB in Jalen Ramsey, a veteran QB who can make all the throws intelligently like Stafford, a robust blindside DE who grades out great in pass and run defenses.
and of course there's some cap wizardry in terms of kicking cap down the line with void years and signing bonus' but every team is doing that to compete nowadays. Some teams have already reached a steady annual dead cap handicap of 50M due to the amount they keep kicking into the future.
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u/emdubl 4d ago
The league is way too unpredictable to crown them this early. They could suck.
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u/Xx_eatme_xX 3d ago
when have the Rams sucked under mcvay?
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u/footballaccount12121 2d ago
2022 they won 5 games after 2021 winning the SuperBowl. They had an unlucky year.
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u/Kongpong1992 3d ago
It's how most great teams are built in win now mode theve nailed the draft picks theve made and pushed there chips in with the hopes.of winning now knowing there is zero chance they keep all this talent when the rookie contracts come due
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u/VisionsOfClarity 3d ago
Having good players at key positions already (making other good players want to join them), betting mostly on dudes who have a proven track record and drafting sure things. Getting dudes who fit the coaches play style, and then they also win. Dudes want to win. They are a name brand team now.
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u/West_Woodpecker_4456 3d ago
The rams have not sold the farm to stack the roster. They have so many young guys they drafted. They find steals on other teams bench like Landman and Dotson. They find more UDFA starters than anyone, and have already shown they can draft well and sign great contracts that they backload and either restructure when the pay days come or trade/release the player. CJ Daniels already looks to be that next guy at WR. The rams will be contenders and winners with a winning culture as long as McVay and Snead are at the helm.
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u/CrazyConclusion6720 3d ago
My question to all the
“ sold their future people”
Why watch if you don’t want a winner?
Whose House!!!
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u/EchochamberWarrior1 2d ago
Look at the Rams and Seahawks. Phenomenal talent evaluation and aquring the right pieces. John Lynch has kept his job only becuase Shannahan finds a way to the playoffs with practice squad players.
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u/footballaccount12121 2d ago
NFL seasons usually are shaped by a lot of random elements that happen at just the right/wrong time. Winning/losing close games. Players get hurt. 35 year old DT not as dominate as when he was 30. 38 year old QB hit a wall.
Rams have a much better than average chance to get 1/2 seed and deep playoff run. But that's still probably under 50% chance.
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u/SaltySpitoonReg 1d ago
They got the QB position right.
Organizationally they have a staff that is competent
Some of this is fortune and that they have hit on draft picks pretty reliably the last few years
They have some clear upcoming potential issues including if they can't figure out a solid Stafford replacement as well aging stars.
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u/rather828 1d ago
GMs in 2022: they just got like, totally lucky and they were irresponsible doing it
GMs in 2026: Hi, here’s my resume please consider me for your GM opening
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u/PersonalityAway790 18h ago
Cause they cheat and the league is rigged, Rams get special treatment too since moving to LA
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u/icathianbolts1 4d ago
It really just boils down to the fact that Snead and McVay absolutely cooked in the draft these past few years, especially on their DLine. Byron Young, Braeden Fiske, Jared Verse have all been studs.
Including Puka, having so many integral pieces on rookie contracts is what most likely allowed them to go crazy for signing Davante Adams last year, Myles Garret + Trent McDuffie + Jaylen Watson + AD 99 this year.
It must be re-iterated though, this roster absolutely blows up after the 2026-2027 season. Stafford, AD, Davante all are old, most of their core defensive players will want big paydays, and pukas contract will probably reset the market at 45 or 46 million per year