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Rams push pause on trading ways
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/8371/rams-push-pause-on-trading-ways
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- In the first two years with general manager Les Snead and coach Jeff Fisher in charge of their drafts, the St. Louis Rams earned a reputation as a team always looking to make a deal.
It was a logical necessity for a new regime looking to rebuild a roster that was mostly dreadful when it arrived after the 2011 season. In each of those first two drafts, the Rams made six trades, four of which were moves down in order to stockpile picks. Add picks, add bodies, improve the roster. That was the clear plan.
Now that the roster has grown and improved -- though it's still not where it needs to be in the difficult NFC West -- the Rams took a different tact in this year's NFL draft.
Trades were few and far between as the Rams consummated just one deal, a move up in which they sacrificed just a fifth-round pick to Buffalo to move up a few spots to secure Florida State defensive back Lamarcus Joyner in the second round.
That isn't to say that Snead and Fisher cut off connection to other teams but it's clear they weren't as interested in making deals as they have been in the past.
“I think we’ve said all along we like the roster," Snead said. "Obviously, it’s young and obviously we’ve still got to develop. We’ve still got to continue to evolve. So that’s not necessarily the reason why you just held pat. There was a few times we tried to make a move and couldn’t."
Instead, the Rams spent most of the draft patiently waiting for players they hoped would fall to them. More often than not, the player did.
As the picks dwindled on Saturday, the Rams targeted Mizzou cornerback E.J. Gaines. They briefly considered packaging some of their seventh-round picks to move up, potentially back into the fifth round to secure his services.
Ultimately, they decided against it and Gaines fell into their lap in Round 6.
"Instead of using picks to go get him, we said, ‘Let’s hold pat,’" Snead said. "We did a little research and felt he might fall, and then you’re able to utilize more picks in the seventh.”
In the early rounds, the Rams never legitimately considered any potential trade-down options. Buffalo touched base with the Rams at No. 2 before making a deal to move up to No. 4 with Cleveland but the Rams weren't interested in moving seven spots to No. 9 and losing out on one of their elite six players.
The Rams also considered a bold move back into the first round. They attempted to deal with Baltimore at No. 17 after adding tackle Greg Robinson and defensive tackle Aaron Donald already. The target was Notre Dame offensive lineman Zack Martin and it would have been costly but the deal died when Dallas took Martin at No. 16.
There were also rumblings of interest in the Rams moving back into the first round later for Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel but again the price was going to be prohibitive and Cleveland was in better position to finalize a deal while only moving up four spots to take him at No. 22.
All told, the Rams added 11 players through the draft. The chances of all of the drafted rookies making the roster aren't good, which is just another indication the Rams have a lot of faith in their current roster.
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/8371/rams-push-pause-on-trading-ways
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- In the first two years with general manager Les Snead and coach Jeff Fisher in charge of their drafts, the St. Louis Rams earned a reputation as a team always looking to make a deal.
It was a logical necessity for a new regime looking to rebuild a roster that was mostly dreadful when it arrived after the 2011 season. In each of those first two drafts, the Rams made six trades, four of which were moves down in order to stockpile picks. Add picks, add bodies, improve the roster. That was the clear plan.
Now that the roster has grown and improved -- though it's still not where it needs to be in the difficult NFC West -- the Rams took a different tact in this year's NFL draft.
Trades were few and far between as the Rams consummated just one deal, a move up in which they sacrificed just a fifth-round pick to Buffalo to move up a few spots to secure Florida State defensive back Lamarcus Joyner in the second round.
That isn't to say that Snead and Fisher cut off connection to other teams but it's clear they weren't as interested in making deals as they have been in the past.
“I think we’ve said all along we like the roster," Snead said. "Obviously, it’s young and obviously we’ve still got to develop. We’ve still got to continue to evolve. So that’s not necessarily the reason why you just held pat. There was a few times we tried to make a move and couldn’t."
Instead, the Rams spent most of the draft patiently waiting for players they hoped would fall to them. More often than not, the player did.
As the picks dwindled on Saturday, the Rams targeted Mizzou cornerback E.J. Gaines. They briefly considered packaging some of their seventh-round picks to move up, potentially back into the fifth round to secure his services.
Ultimately, they decided against it and Gaines fell into their lap in Round 6.
"Instead of using picks to go get him, we said, ‘Let’s hold pat,’" Snead said. "We did a little research and felt he might fall, and then you’re able to utilize more picks in the seventh.”
In the early rounds, the Rams never legitimately considered any potential trade-down options. Buffalo touched base with the Rams at No. 2 before making a deal to move up to No. 4 with Cleveland but the Rams weren't interested in moving seven spots to No. 9 and losing out on one of their elite six players.
The Rams also considered a bold move back into the first round. They attempted to deal with Baltimore at No. 17 after adding tackle Greg Robinson and defensive tackle Aaron Donald already. The target was Notre Dame offensive lineman Zack Martin and it would have been costly but the deal died when Dallas took Martin at No. 16.
There were also rumblings of interest in the Rams moving back into the first round later for Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel but again the price was going to be prohibitive and Cleveland was in better position to finalize a deal while only moving up four spots to take him at No. 22.
All told, the Rams added 11 players through the draft. The chances of all of the drafted rookies making the roster aren't good, which is just another indication the Rams have a lot of faith in their current roster.
