There has been plenty of speculation regarding what exactly the Rams will do with the number 19 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Some have pointed to them moving up in the draft, others have viewed them as a prime candidate to trade down with an aggressive team. What can we gleam from the Rams history of draft trades, and can it help reveal their intentions in the first round of this year's draft?
Rams Draft Trades Under Les Snead
General manager Les Snead has been one of the most active traders in the NFL since he took over the Rams in 2012, both during the draft and outside of it. As GM of the Rams, Snead has made a whopping 32 draft trades (excluding player trades), moving up 11 times and down 21 times. His biggest moves came trading down from second overall in the 2012 NFL Draft for a massive haul from Washington and moving up to select quarterback Jared Goff first overall in the 2016 NFL Draft.
These trades have benefitted the Rams, who have been to two Super Bowls under Snead and won Super Bowl LVI on the heels of Snead's trade for OLB Von Miller. His aggression has fed both sides of these trades, moving up to select their top guys and moving back to help replenish the draft picks they may have lost in the pursuit of aggressive moves. These moves helped Les Snead gain a rather famous moniker for his treatment of draft picks.
A New Approach
Recently, however, their approach has seemingly shifted. After a decade of constantly pursuing top-flight and expensive talent, the Rams have spent the last two years accumulating more draft capital instead of spending them. A year after making a stunning 14 picks in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Rams once again have the most draft picks with 11 in the 2024 NFL Draft. They have fully begun resetting their cap space and spending by relying on cheap rookie contracts to offset the expensive contracts of players like Aaron Donald, Matthew Stafford, and Cooper Kupp-a bold but shrewd move that requires consistently hitting on draft picks.
This approach was seemingly born out of their disastrous 2022 season, where the team went 5-12 just a year after winning the Super Bowl. Instead of trying to make splash moves to remain in contention, the Rams bit the bullet and refocused their attention on the draft. It bore fruit in 2023 off the heels of rookie stars like Kobie Turner and Puka Nacua. The Rams went 10-7 and made the playoffs just a year into their reset.
While all of the signs might point to them eyeing a potential move back early in the draft or their patience to stand pat and snag a talented player that falls to them, Snead's willingness to pursue talent can never be underestimated. With Stafford and Kupp aging and Aaron Donald's recent retirement, their window is beginning to close-a factor that could rekindle Snead's aggression in the draft.
The Rams under Les Snead have been anything but predictable, and I doubt that approach changes at all as long as he is in charge. They truly could go in any direction early in the 2024 NFL Draft, and be entirely justified with that process. With them gearing up to make their first selection in the first round since the 2016 NFL Draft (!), their pick becomes one of the more interesting selections in the draft.
