No Round 1 picks? LA Rams topping each NFL ace with a pair of 5's

While the LA Rams have not used a first round pick in any NFL Draft since the team united GM Les Snead with HC Sean McVay, let's not fall into the trap of the NFL media. Whether it's the narrative of NFL Insiders, pundits, analysts, reporters, or simply talking heads, the Rams roster has not been depleted due to that lack of talent infusion from Round 1 of the past seven NFL Drafts.

Yes, the LA Rams have not always drafted well. But no NFL team has a perfect track record in the NFL draft. The thing about the LA Rams draft strategy is pretty simple. It's far better (and less expensive) to whiff in Day 3 of any NFL draft than Day 1 of any NFL draft.

If you want to write a dissertation on the random chance involved in picking from the NFL Draft, you will find plenty of resources to do so. But if you want to explore how an NFL team can turn rookies chosen in Round 5 of the NFL Draft into elite players, I'm afraid you will need to focus on the LA Rams. It's only the LA Rams who have developed players chosen in the fifth round of the past two respective drafts who are burning through the NFL.

There has been far too much made about the LA Rams willingness to trade first round picks for veteran players. After all, there is no guarantees that those Round 1 rookies will do much of anything after joining the NFL. Meanwhile, the Rams roster has exploded with a continual importing of game-changing players who compete immediately.

Still, what about the other draft picks that the LA Rams do use on draft day? You see, the LA Rams are not sitting on their thumbs on draft day. Rather, the team has found plenty of oomph to reinforce the team. The Rams draft in both 2022 and 2023 does not get much interest, but the Rams have outsmarted and underspent the rest of the NFL by landing elite young players on Day 3 of the draft.

Let's talk about two of the Rams top young talent, both of whom were selected in Round 5, in the 2022 NFL Draft and in the 2023 NFL Draft, respectively.