The Rams model - Genius or insanity?

[Ramit]

First round picks didn't help us much with Fisher in charge, although he did draft some talent.

But if McVay and Snead built a winning culture, we can attract good free agents who want to play for a contender. It looks like the Rams have a solid "core" of good players. But it will be essential to continue to reload the fringe players with good talent and diamonds in the rough.

Cooper Kupp and JJ were third round selections and they are solid starters so I'm optimistic that the Rams can right the ship for another run.

Does anyone know what injuries Talib and JJ have? Will they return in time for the playoffs?

Bro cooper kupp and John Johnson III are not just solid starters....they are at the very least + players and according to PFF are (or were) top 10 at their position!!! Just a little nitpick on your word choices but I agree with the overall message of your post

 

[thirteen28]

Bro cooper kupp and John Johnson III are not just solid starters....they are at the very least + players and according to PFF are (or were) top 10 at their position!!! Just a little nitpick on your word choices but I agree with the overall message of your post

Those two are first round talent, even if they weren't drafted in the first round. They have both overplayed their draft status by significant margins.

 

[TSFH Fan]

The NBA approach? It could work, who knows?

Both Matthews and Weddle took less money to sign with the Rams. Getting vets at a discount seems to be another talent acquisition tool at Snead's disposal.

 

[fearsomefour]

Drafting well is still the best way to replenish talent and maintain a solid core of young players. Five straight years where the Rams don't or won't have a first round pick to use where every other team does. Don't see the advantage in that.

Downplay the importance of first round picks but it seems clear to me that the Rams mismanagement of the draft during the 2000s led to the GSOT rotting from within and finding impact players in the first round again (Quinn, Brockers, Donald, Gurley and Goff) is what led them end their long postseason drought. Yes, the Rams have first round picks currently on their roster but several (Fowler, Bortles, Brockers) figure to be gone soon and others(Cooks, Gurley) face an uncertain future with the team. They're going to need to be replaced.

The Whiners have four first rounders in their front seven, three they drafted with the fourth being Dee Ford.

 

[Angry Ram]

The funny critique I keep hearing is that the Rams will go 5 yrs without a first round pick.

Yet, the Rams probably have more first round picks on their team than any other team. So its not like they are not adding first round talent.

Ramsey
Cooks
Goff
Fowler
Bortles
Gurley
Donald
Brockers

Also they had a first round pick this year but traded down.

 

[fearsomefour]

I think the conversation was very much a “what can we do to win now” conversation.
Ramsey is the best player they could get and they got him.
There can be long term benefit to having him of courses. Should not wait on getting a deal done, do it while still in the honeymoon phase.
The long term ability to rebuild becomes a lot more uncertain without the pics obviously.

 

[iamme33]

every one says proven players are better than draft picks but what about a career ending injury and missing the chance at a Donald type player for lack of #1 picks.

 

[UKram]

There’s arguments for both sides I have said for weeks we needed to keep oit
1st rounder to add some young talent in the draft ... but it is what it is .. I mean if we end up picking in the 15-20 range are we going to get a a player as talented as Ramsey or big ol bust .. who knows

I see something somewhere maybe here or Reddit .. the way I’m looking at this is we traded next years 1st and 4th for jalen Ramsey who is this years first round pick (24 years old proven talent in the league and it makes me feel better )

i don’t think the rams are done though we may shift some players for picks and I’m not sure cooks or Gurley are safe

 

[MadGoat]

every one says proven players are better than draft picks but what about a career ending injury and missing the chance at a Donald type player for lack of #1 picks.

The chance of drafting an Aaron Donald type of player is less than 5% a year, and much lower where the Rams will be picking in 2020 and 2021.

Career ending injuries can happen to anyone, including future draft picks. If anything, Ramsey has shown himself to incredibly durable (not including the recent "back injury"). It may seem like a bit of putting all of your eggs in one basket, but the actual player production is what matters the most. Turning your lottery tickets into a proven commodity is the safer of the two routes, even factoring in injury.

 

[Ram65]

Heard Snead on the ESPN Mike and Trey show this morning. He did say that they talked to Ramseys Reps. I can't remember exactly how he said it but, it sounded like they know what Ramsey's Reps want and they can deal with it in the future. It wasn't great news as no time table was discussed. I thought they would be closer to a deal or have one done. That's a bit risky and Rams will probably overpay him.

Acquiring a proven top-level player for top draft picks should be a safer bet than making the draft picks. The cost to do so is very high. These trades cost a combination of the draft capital and cap capital. Teams like the Rams don't have enough of both to make this a sustainable proposition. The Rams can't keep trading high draft picks and shelling out top dollar to sign them while being able to find enough other affordable quality players to assure they keep competing for a championship.

 

[Picked4td]

from a pure talent standpoint, this trade is a no brainer win for the rams, and they arent even close to mortgaging the future with this deal. the only downside to the trade is losing 2 players at very cheap locked in prices for 4-5 years each. but that would still require the rams to have hit on both picks, which is far from a certainty

 

[Loyal]

every one says proven players are better than draft picks but what about a career ending injury and missing the chance at a Donald type player for lack of #1 picks.

Or having the Chance at maybe-Donald type players, but pick Greg Robinsons and Tayvon Austins of the World? It can be argued both ways. I'll take the All Pro behind Door # 2, Monte Hall...

 

[Angry Ram]

For those lamenting over the lost draft picks, here's some of the players that were taken at the Rams 1st round pick since 2016.

2016:

15th (Rams OG pick)- Corey Coleman, WR, Browns
Others; Taylor Decker, Keanu Neal, Ryan Kelly, Shaq Lawson, Darron Lee, Will Fuller

OK, Corey Coleman and Darron Lee are no longer on their OG teams. Shaq Lawson is OK. Will Fuller and Keanu Neal have missed whole seasons before. So that leaves Ryan Kelly and Taylor Decker that have panned out. Would you take any of those over a franchise QB? Remember it was either Jared Goff or Carson Wentz over these guys.

2017:

5th (Rams OG pick) - Corey Davis, WR, Titans
Others; Jamaal Adams, Mike Williams, Christian McAfferey, John Ross, Patrick Mahomes, Marshon Lattimore, Deshaun Watson.

OK, this is where the "we overpaid" crowd will point to. BUT the Rams were 6-10 in 2016 to be here to begin with. Do we really want to go through that again?
Mike Williams and John Ross are decent, I guess. Mike Williams thing is he is a big guy, and he's a TD or bust guy.
Jamaal Adams, Christian McAffery, the QBs, and Marshon Lattimore. All great players. They weren't going to take a QB or CMC. They had Jared Goff and Todd Gurley. The 2 DBs also would've been good picks. Remember though, Jared Goff. 2017 would end up being the year of the turnaround. Did we really miss out on anything when you consider that?

2018:

23rd (Rams OG pick) - Isiah Wynn, RT, Patriots.
Others: DJ Moore, Hayden Hurst, Calvin Ridley, Rashaad Penny, Terrell Edmunds
Isaiah Wynn has only played 2 games so far, being on IR his first 2 years. He has a shot to be a long term tackle, sure, but it's getting harder.
Hayden Hurst got beat out by late rounder Mark Andrews, Rashaad Penny got beat out by mid rounder Chris Carson. Terrell Edmunds is a decent to good player. DJ Moore and Calvin Ridley and the best of this bunch, and he's been up and down as the #2 WR opposite Julio, and DJ Moore has potential.

Rams got Brandin Cooks, a 1000+ yard receiver with 7 TDs last year. I'd take that over any of the other guys, except maybe Calvin.

2019:

31st (Rams OG pick) - Kaleb McGary - OG, Falcons
Others: N'Keal Harry, Byron Murphy, Rock Ya-Sin, Jawaan Taylor, Deebo Samuel.

OK, this group are all rookies, so it's hard to tell. The Rams ended up taking Taylor Rapp, and it's looking promising so far. Are any of the above players leaps and bounds better players than Taylor Rapp?

So I ask, what exactly is this team losing in exchange for Jared Goff, Brandin Cooks, and Jalen Ramsey?

 

[PhillyRam]

I appreciate your point, but the issue is we have all high paid first rounders. That’s quite different from first rounders on rookie contracts.

For example, The Niners right now have a terrific DL composed of first rounders on rookie contracts. That gives them the ability to add quality FAs a lot easier than we can.

The Rams have almost zero room for error with so much money tied up in a handful of players and no first round picks the next 2 years.

Can it work? It’s possible, but it’s never been done before in the cap era. And that’s my key point.

Another stat for you that many overlook.

The Rams have drafted 27 players over the last 3 yrs. While they did not select a player in the first round, they still have 22 players in the organization from those 3 drafts.

ALL of them are on the active roster or on IR (Noteboom, Johnson, Lawler, Kiser on IR).

That is damn impressive!

Granted not all starters, but many are active on game day and at least contribute on STs and are reserves etc, along with a number of starters.

That does not even take into account UDFAs and street FAs like Littleton, Brown, Williams, Hill, Fox, Webster, Blythe, Shelton, Reeder, Mundt, etc..

 

[nighttrain]

but we could beat the Hawks, occasionally
train

 

[oldnotdead]

For those who bemoan the lack of a contract before the trade I point to the fact that the Rams weren't going in totally blind. They spoke with his agent and preliminary numbers apparently were discussed. People are ignoring the impact of the expiring CBA on extensions. It changes things particularly in amounts and the timing of the contract. The Rams have this year and all of next year to get the deal done. Jalen knows through his agent and Fowler, that if he's patient he will get his payday. Making the trade contingent upon having a contract first gives all the leverage to the player. The Rams would be up against the expiring trade deadline.

The talking heads who claim by not having a contract gives the player all the leverage simply don't know what they are talking about. The Rams now have plenty of time to get the terms right. Jalen wants his payday, but he also wants to play for a championship caliber team, so the leverage isn't as one sided as it might seem.

This was an absolute steal by GM who has cajones of brass. Wade will now be able to roll his single high safety to help Hill/Long on the other side. This was a game changer trade.

 

[iamme33]

Career ending injuries can happen to anyone, including future draft picks. If anything, Ramsey has shown himself to incredibly durable (not including the recent "back injury"). It may seem like a bit of putting all of your eggs in one basket, but the actual player production is what matters the most. Turning your lottery tickets into a proven commodity is the safer of the two routes, even factoring in
injury.
you don't have scouting departments and talent evaluators picking your lottery tickets. I have seen plenty of bad picks for sure but to say trading picks for proven players is safer of two routes depends on how many picks you give up. also how well you draft. we gave up more than Chicago gave okland for the highest paid d player in the league. on the other hand ramy letting son of bum play his style of df could make this the trade of the year but we will have to wait to see.

 

[iamme33]

Or having the Chance at maybe-Donald type players, but pick Greg Robinsons and Tayvon Austins of the World? It can be argued both ways. I'll take the All Pro behind Door # 2, Monte Hall...

yes we did pick robinson but the next pick was Donald behind door 2. as you said it can be argued both ways. I think we will just have to see how this works out. i am hoping that ramy will turn this df into a top 5 df if he does then this was a great trade