The LA Rams drafted like the NFL’s version of Moneyball

The LA Rams made their way to the draft podium The audience turned their NFL Draft trackers to the offensive line prospects. Which one would it be? The air was thick with anticipation. Would it be the Oklahoma center who lit up the competition at the Senior Bowl? Creed Humphrey? Or would it be the lumberjack version of center in Quinn Meinerz, the young man who popped onto everyone’s radar screen?

And yet, as the LA Rams named 5-foot-9 155-pound (or is it 165-pound per the Rams official player roster?) Tutu Atwell (5.97 grade per NFL.com), the wide receiver from the University of Louisville, as their first pick and 57th pick of the 2021 NFL Draft, jaws dropped. Some tried to make sense of it. Others threw up their hand at it. Others raged about it. And then, it went downhill from there.  But there is another lens for this draft class that may help you to see everything from a new perspective.

Check out this video clip from Moneyball. This is the analytics application to baseball, but the same holds true to the Rams current draft selection? Now before you go to the video, try this. Imagine that Brad Pitt is LA Rams GM Les Snead, and you’ll find yourself understanding what we’re saying here.

In Moneyball, the application of data analytics is applied to building a baseball team’s roster. It’s the tale of the Oakland Athletics and based on a book by Michael Lewis, Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game.  It’s the story of Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane and his adopting baseball sabermetrics to assemble the team’s roster.

Now, let’s focus upon the LA Rams 2021 NFL Draft with the same discernment. The Rams could not compete with other NFL teams, because other teams have more picks. So the Rams must be smarter with their picks. They drafted for niche players who they do not have on their roster. They set about to find those quality players who were overlooked using traditional and historical evaluation methods.