10 worst Rams draft picks of LA Rams GM Les Snead's era
By Bret Stuter
I - OT Greg Robinson
With the second pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, the LA Rams select offensive tackle Glenn Robinson from Auburn. What makes this the number one gaffe of the Rams GM Les Snead's draft history? just 11 picks later, with the 13th pick of the 2014 NFL Draft, the LA Rams selected defensive lineman Aaron Donald.
Robinson was the second overall pick, and he arrived to the NFL as a mountain of a man. He stood 6-foot-5 and weighed a burly 330 pounds. He hailed from Auburn, and the believe was that he could anchor the LA Rams offensive line for years to come.
While he played for and started for the LA Rams for three seasons, he never got on track. He was touted as the next Orlando Pace, but the lofty expectations merely served to set him up to fail. In June 2017, just three years after being drafted, he was already being labeled a draft bust. Of course, the fact that he was traded to the Detroit Lions for, you guessed it, a sixth-round pick, didn't help to negate those rumors.
The LA Rams knew that they needed a strong offensive lineman presence at left tackle. Unfortunately, Greg Robinson was not the guy. After playing for three seasons for the Rams, he lasted just three more years in the NFL.
He was the second overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft, and he was out of the NFL just six years later. No, first round draft picks are not guaranteed to become All-Pro football players. Sometimes they are not even good starters. Les Snead is no worse at drafting than many NFL general managers. He's just been at it long enough that his misses are piling up to the point where it appears like he has struggled as well.
He hasn't.
In the end, the LA Rams have appeared in two Super Bowls in the past four years. The Rams may be at a low point currently, but they have been here before and have bounced back pretty quickly. Will that be the case in 2023? Well, if it does happen quickly, you can thank the ability of LA Rams GM Les Snead for leading the Rams to a very successful 2023 NFL Draft.