Les Snead explains why Rams prioritized Leonard Floyd

[PhillyRam]

Rams will likely draft a DE if Fox walks ..., and a CB to compete for a secondary role.

Well they seem to like those 4 UDFA'S... One of them likely steps into the Fox role.

Having said that, I do think they need another quick twitch type DT that can pressure QBs to take pressure off of Donald.

 

[Riverumbbq]

Well they seem to like those 4 UDFA'S... One of them likely steps into the Fox role.

Pretty big gamble imo.

 

[PhillyRam]

Pretty big gamble imo.

As I also mentioned, I agree a young interior pass rusher would be a priority to me.

 

[8to12]

And what if AD gets hurt? What did Floyd do vs GB? Completely invisible.

Players talent and value should be evaluated in a vacuum. If AD goes down you think we can rely on Floyd to carry our pass rush? Absolutely not.

Rams had the #1 defense last season. By your logic, it is all because of #99. But, in years past the Rams barely cracked the top 10 with #99. Rams were #3 overall in Run defense. Is that because #99 gets a TFL every other play? Or, maybe the other team nets a 10 yard run because #99 shot up the "B" gap and the run went up the "A" gap? IF you are only going to look at Pass rush productivity then you've got tunnel vision. Coach Staley lured Floyd to LA because of his size, length, motor, ability to set the edge, play in space, chase the backside of a play, along with his Pass rush skills. The new DC will use the same scheme that Staley installed last season and augment it. Floyd now has a leadership role in this defense ; he has the most experience in the scheme. There is value in that.
Did the Rams overpay? probably. Will he disappear in games, yes. But, I understand why they signed him for what they did. I get it. I don't the defense will be as good overall with other Mid tier Edge players on the market.

 

[kurtfaulk]

Which also says you don't really need to pay a guy top 10-12 money as an edge rusher behind him. We're paying him franchise tag numbers. Who a week ago would have been happy with that thought?

I'm sorry but we knew it would take $16m per year to keep him. If the Rams can make it work that's fine by me.

Floyd was so much better than fowler or Matthews for the Rams. The Rams obviously thought they couldn't replace what he did for the defense.

He is the total package for the Rams.

.

 

[RamFan503]

Nah man there were and still are a lot of edge options on the market. We had tons of choices to fill his role and get a 3rd rounder back next year. The list of young, talented EDGE guys in FA was pretty absurd. Some who already signed for less than Floyd too.



View: https://twitter.com/NFL_DovKleiman/status/1371590946807242752?s=20

Guess he flat out sucked in Denver. System means nothing apparently. If a player works in your system and you keep him, it doesn't mean that you got a raw deal. You can go out and get the next non-fit or you can opt for the one you know fits.

What did Fowler do after leaving the Rams and Floyd is arguably a better all around edge. I guess I'm not into the whole, "we paid too much" crowd. We did what we likely needed to do to retain an integral part of our defense. Moving on.

 

[XXXIVwin]

Really interested by the board’s mixed reactions to this signing. A lot of us have learned that the Rams are successful, but... sometimes they take gambles that don’t pan out.

I love the McVay/Snead combo and have a HUGE amount of faith in their decision making. But they’re far from infallible.

My reaction after the Goff signing: “Woohoo! Championship!”

After the Gurley signing: “Woohoo! Championship!”

After the Cooks signing: “Woohoo! Championship!”

After the Floyd signing: “Solid player, but I hope they didn’t overpay...”

 

[FarNorth]

This is about making a championship run now. We have a lot of posters talking about if not predicting a Super Bowl run for the Rams. If we want that to happen resigning Floyd was a necessary first step imo.

We can't screw around with rolling in someone on a cheaper deal to save a few bucks and see if he fits, gets the job done, or not.

Floyd was the key on the field addition to the defense last year that helped raise it to the best in the NFL. We need him.

The Rams are going all out to win it all now. And that is the right strategy.

 

[HE WITH HORNS]

Williams and Floyd were my only must keep players. I just hope we can do restructures and not cut other players. This was a GREAT move if it's the former.

 

[TexasRam]

View: https://twitter.com/AJDraftScout/status/1371617490242056192?s=20

It’s an asinine move. No offense to those of you that think the front office is infallible. You are paying Floyd Pro Bowl player level money when he is entirely dependent on what is created by Donald.

Apparently we are going to see some money magically appear to shore up the real holes we need to plug.

 

[ramfan46]

Floyd gives them that stout run defender while still being a credible threat as a pass rusher. He should be good for 9-13 sacks while being a great run defender. It gives them a little time to find another pass rusher since Lewis is a complete wildcard at this point. If they can hit on a situational rusher, they go right back to being scary good. That's without upgrading ILB.

 

[Shuie3225]

But if you're gonna act like he's not an excellent player let's just cut to it and disagree.

Not saying he's not a good player, he is. Excellent? IDK we'll see. Can a player be excellent with one year production at a high level? I personally don't think so. Is the defense better with him and his versatility? Of course.

But when we're evaluating all parts of this, there are a few things we have to consider. Who was still available on the FA edge market, and what would they have cost? Also evaluating the difference between that player, plus the salary saved, plus the free 3rd round comp pick next year. You have to take everything into account. It wasn't a terrible deal by any means, but he doesn't have multiple years of high-level play. He has 1. And that one year came playing next to AD. What did Fowler do next to AD versus what he did last year in ATL? Following that line of thinking, we could have signed an edge for $10M-12M who could very well have had the same production as Floyd. Plus we would have extra money to spend on OL or elsewhere, and a free 3rd round pick next year. IDK.. I don't hate it but think we could have made better moves.

 

[AvengerRam]

It’s an asinine move. No offense to those of you that think the front office is infallible. You are paying Floyd Pro Bowl player level money when he is entirely dependent on what is created by Donald.

Apparently we are going to see some money magically appear to shore up the real holes we need to plug.

There’s definitely a “Donald effect,” but let’s not overstate it. It’s not like Samson Ebukam was able to get to the QB consistently playing with AD, and he has great physical tools.

 

[So Ram]

There’s definitely a “Donald effect,” but let’s not overstate it. It’s not like Samson Ebukam was able to get to the QB consistently playing with AD, and he has great physical tools.

I hope your right.I’m curious to see how your theory plays out.

 

[XXXIVwin]

A few random Floyd thoughts:

1. Durability. Rams have been burned by big-contract players getting hurt (Cooks, Gurley), and they must like what they see in Floyd on the health front. He played all 16 games the last three years (but missed 10 games combined his first 2 years).

2. Leadership. Rams must be convinced that Floyd can be a leader and won’t slack off now that he’s been paid. Certainly was the case for AD and JR. Will Floyd still bring the intensity? Rams think yes.

3. Came up big in big games. Ppl on this thread note his 5 sacks vs. SEA and only 5.5 sacks in the other 14 games. Well, the SEA games were arguably the most important games of the season, so he showed his best when it counted most.

4. Paid market rate. If Rams didn’t pony up, DEN or NYG would have gotten him.

5. Low in ‘21, higher after that. Gotta assume his ‘21 cap number will be low, but his numbers in ‘22-‘24 will be astronomical. Then again, once the new TV deals come through, the caps should go way up. As usual, Rams are pushing the cap pain into the future... but they always seem to make it work...

6. TFL and snap count. Floyd had either 11 or 13 TFL’s this year (saw two different figures for this). Regardless, that’s impressive. And at 89%, Floyd played more snaps than anyone else in the front 7– including AD.

7. Obo, Hollins, or Lewis? Fight is on for the other OLB starter.

 

[So Ram]

A few random Floyd thoughts:

1. Durability. Rams have been burned by big-contract players getting hurt (Cooks, Gurley), and they must like what they see in Floyd on the health front. He played all 16 games the last three years (but missed 10 games combined his first 2 years).

2. Leadership. Rams must be convinced that Floyd can be a leader and won’t slack off now that he’s been paid. Certainly was the case for AD and JR. Will Floyd still bring the intensity? Rams think yes.

3. Came up big in big games. Ppl on this thread note his 5 sacks vs. SEA and only 5.5 sacks in the other 14 games. Well, the SEA games were arguably the most important games of the season, so he showed his best when it counted most.

4. Paid market rate. If Rams didn’t pony up, DEN or NYG would have gotten him.

5. Low in ‘21, higher after that. Gotta assume his ‘21 cap number will be low, but his numbers in ‘22-‘24 will be astronomical. Then again, once the new TV deals come through, the caps should go way up. As usual, Rams are pushing the cap pain into the future... but they always seem to make it work...

1. Always a concern,but showed toughness
2.JJ is gone.Who takes over the playcalling??
3.F”Seattle- is Wilson even coming back. Really not afraid of them in 2021.
Then again the O”Line sucked last.Now Waldron &Dickerson show what kind of coaches they will be after being Rams
4.Still Floyd is not cheap & is no ShaQ
in TBay.
5. The Cap is the Cap. The Rams still need to count on the draft & younger guys stepping up.

—back to 4. How will Floyd be without STAYLEY ? Wonder how he felt about playing with another team. If the shoe fits. Raheem must have really felt confident in him as well as Mcvay ?
Interesting? Thought he would have been a Charger or at least JJ.

 

[So Ram]

Maybe Troy Hill goes to the Chargers.He did lead the NFL in defensive TD’s.

 

[Picked4td]

i see a lot of ppl saying we over payed, yet this seemed quite on par with all the other edge rusher signings this offseason. Not sure you can say its an overpay if thats clearly the going rate. and is there really anyone that you would have rather signed instead?

 

[ScotsRam]

Matt Judon - 14M per yr (28yrs old)
Yannik Ngakoue - 13M per yr (25 yrs old)
Romeo Okwara - 13M per yr (25yrs old)
Shaq Barrett - 18M per yr (28yrs old)

With still available FA edge rushers like Ingram, Dunlap, Reddick, Aldon Smith...all who could be had for cheaper, I just don't get the overpay for Floyd tbh. Throw in the loss of a 3rd rounder next year too and it just makes it worse.

Where does this loss of a third rounder next year come in?

Compensatory picks are awarded based on a formula that takes all signings and departures into account. If we let Floyd walk and didnt replace him, THEN you're talking comp picks. We obviously would have had to sign someone else to replace him... so that 3rd rounder likely doesnt exist anyway.

Oh yeah- and fuck comp picks. At some point you gotta sign someone and play ball. Are we trying to win the superbowl or the draft?

 

[OnceARam]

We are in a win now mode. AD and Stafford have maybe a three year window. Floyd played 90 percent of the snaps last year. Highest of the front seven. Higher than AD. Obviously Rams valued his play beyond sacks. Losing Floyd would have left a big hole. Obviously they feel Lewis is not ready to fill that hole. JJ may have been better at his position than Floyd but the drop off is not nearly as steep. People can say this was an overpay but it really depends on context. Compared to sack specialist? Yes. Comparing to what he fills for a team that is in the championship hunt then not so much.

This. -> Win mode!

Floyd had 10.5 sacks but 19 QB hits too. So he was close for quite a few more. He was also a force in Run D. His lanky build makes QBs have to change trajectory and passed also. I noticed that he may not show up on the stat sheet every game, but he shows up on a lot of plays and makes stat-less plays.

And this. -> Production!

Think about it in terms of risk vs. reward.

If that edge isn't held down, the rest of the defense doesn't work. So as great as AD is, his impact is mitigated by a weak supporting cast. Remember the Atlanta playoff game where they just played keep away from AD for the win? Yeah, that was because we weren't able to play disciplined defense like we did last year.

Floyd is a solid football player in this scheme, who doesn't have injury concerns.

Let's say we let Floyd walk. Then what?

Most likely we don't "get lucky" again and he is replaced with a group of good but not great rotational players, the sum total of which would result in a less than stellar defense due to their lack of consistent play.

Consistency is valuable and if Floyd is one thing, he is consistent.