LA Rams know how to develop players into top NFL performers

There are a lot of qualities about the LA Rams team that are not getting enough discussion right now. And for the life of me, I have no idea why.  First and foremost is the fact that the LA Rams have been one of the five youngest teams in the NFL in four of the past five seasons. In fact, the team has not fallen worse than the tenth youngest team in the NFL in any of the past five seasons. That information is provided by Jimmy Kempski over at Philly Voice.com.

That’s just one of the unusual factoids about this LA Rams team.

It’s a strange characteristic for a team that is often represented by venerable offensive left tackle Andrew Whitworth, who at the age of 39 years old, is one of the oldest offensive linemen, as well as one of the oldest NFL players actively starting in the league today.

The funny thing is, youth and inexperience are typically qualities that are associated with teams trying to rebuild to win. The LA Rams have been winning all along, and boast a 43-21 record over the past four seasons.  Isn’t it ironic, don’t you think?

NFL incubation chamber

Of course, there are other little-known qualities about the LA Rams team. For one thing, did you know that the Rams are one of the most successful teams at developing players from within? Just check out this little known fact:

If you pause and ponder on that a moment, you will see that it truly does make a lot of sense on two fronts. On one hand, the LA Rams haven’t the same amount of spending money when the team enters the NFL Free Agency market as other NFL teams. So if you can’t buy your groceries at the market, you become a farmer and grow what you need at a fraction of the cost.

No first-round pick? No problem

But perhaps nearly equally responsible is the fact that the team does not pick in round one of the NFL Draft. Picking in later rounds has forced the team to develop better methods and protocols for assessing the inherent talent in draft prospects. And the team has learned how to key their draft strategy to have a better chance of succeeding in getting NFL starters for future years.

Sure, it’s easy to think of the LA Rams as a veteran team, loaded with experience and free agents from other teams. But the reality is that this is a young team with players who developed with the Rams organization. The Rams are one of the most adept at turning late-round drafted players, or even those who never heard their name called, and growing them into NFL starters.

Success is not about drafting the most first-round picks. NFL success is about getting the most quality NFL starters out of the draft class. Even without a first-round pick, the Rams prove that a successful draft is about starters, not about headlines. The 2021 NFL season will put that theory to the test once more. Will the Rams be able to fill the starting offensive center position, reinforce the edge, cornerback, and offensive line areas, and emerge with 2021 impacts players from this draft?

We will soon find out,  won’t we?