2023 NFL Draft: Rams draft strategy and why so many underestimate Les Snead

Rams build rosters the right way

That means that while we view the NFL Draft in terms of the rookie additions, the actual roster impact of the NFL Draft is the added rookies PLUS the salary flexibility to sign additional NFL veterans. What that means is that by trading back in any NFL Draft, the Rams have lowered the cost of their rookies, adding to the team's ability to sign other players to the roster.

The NFL Draft continues to be just one component of the overall Rams roster rebuilding strategy. While fans may rip and tear at the team for drafting poorly in the 2019 NFL Draft, what was the impact in 2019 to the team trading a fifth-round pick to acquire offensive guard Austin Corbett? And the LA Rams signed future starting interior offensive lineman Coleman Shelton from the Arizona Cardinals.

We are not savvy enough to segment the LA Rams roster build into its component parts with any degree of certainty. In the past six years, the LA Rams have had five winning seasons, four NFL Playoff appearances, two Super Bowl appearances, and one Super Bowl victory.

Rams will not disappoint in 2023

Was 2022 disappointing? At the minimum. But the results of the LA Rams roster build strategy have been nothing short of spectacular. That means that while we can chide the Rams draft for failing to meet our lofty expectations, the ultimate goal, winning on the football field, has been accomplished in five out of the past six season.

My point is not professing to know more than anyone else. Truth be told, I learn something new almost every day simply be following the LA Rams, seeing what this team does and does not do, and then try to discover why the team has chosen that strategy. More often than not, I am amazed at the complexity and layers that are involved in the Rams methodology of crafting a new roster each year.

I believe that the more I research the strategy of LA Rams GM Les Snead, the more I am convinced that the guy is simply the smartest GM in the NFL Draft. That does not mean that he is infallible. It does not mean that he is incapable of choosing players who will not be injured. But the track record of the Rams past six NFL seasons is overwhelmingly positive. That does not happen by random luck.

Fortune favors the bold. That's why I believe the LA Rams off-season can end up being one of the most entertaining and exciting off-seasons Rams fans have experienced in quite some time.