Why Rams front office walking away from 'All In' is the right approach for 2025

When the LA Rams were blessed with the performance of All-Pro defensive lineman Aaron Donald, the team had the 'feel' of his presence, his persona, his aura. However it happened, the Los Angeles Rams entire football organization, from the practice squad to the executive suites, seemed to take on an urgency of the 'work hard, play hard,' mindset. There was not soft approach, and the display of that All-In mindset was frequently tossed into the faces of NFL fans as the team made a series of blockbuster trades, all of which were designed to get Aaron Donald a Super Bowl ring before he walked away from the game.

Mission accomplished.

It was not as though the team won Super Bowl LVI and then relaxed, content to fade into irrelevance. As soon as the team left the celebratory parade, the top priority was re-signing veteran All-Pro OLB Von Miller. But the team was outbid (sort of) by the Buffalo Bills, and Von Miller was gone. The Rams tried to regroup, but the meticulous calculations needed by this team to set the 'right price,' for players is tough to spin from to find a suitable Plan B.

Even in the dire fall from heights, the team reached out to the Carolina Panthers for not one, but two game-changing players. On both occasions, the Rams never got a foot in the door. The Panthers opted to trade RB Christian McCaffrey to the rival San Francisco 49ers. And the Panthers opted to retain DE/OLB Brian Burns, instead trading him a year later to the New York Giants for pennies on the dollar for what the Rams had offered.

Meanwhile, the Rams discovered that Round 5 running back Kyren Williams could play nearly as effectively as Christian McCaffrey for a fraction of the salary. The team learned a similar lesson when adding Round 3 rookie OLB Byron Young, whose performance in two seasons helped to soothe the ache of missing out on the pricey Burns.

From the Hare to the Tortoise

The children's fable, The Tortoise and the Hare, is a story that we all learned the lesson of being slow and steady to get what and where we want. In this tale, a tortoise (turtle) and a hare (rabbit) decide to run a race to see who would win. Against all logic, it is the steady progress of the slow-moving turtle that claims the checkered flag. In many ways, the Rams front office is gearing back from an 'All-in,' approach to the steady and deliberate progress of building a team through the draft.

And that may upset fans who have become addicted to that fast-paced headline-making trading strategy that seemed to keep the team in contention but fighting an annual salary cap battle to stay relevant.

When the team fell to 5-12 in 2022, there was a shift from building a team around a handful of highly compensated players to handle the load, towards the strategy of growing those elite All-Pros in house. From what we've all witnessed in the young players added as early as the 2022 NFL Draft, the bold shift is paying off.

Growth is not simply, painless, or seamless. To make room for new players, old players must accept a reduced role, or find themselves a new team to play for. The LA Rams had to face 2023 without All-Pro DB Jalen Ramsey, 2024 without All-Pro DT Aaron Donald, and now 2025 without All-Pro WR Cooper Kupp. But those moves, while concerning at the team, have led to young players finding the wherewithal to stand up and take on starting roles in their absence.

You may or may not fully appreciate the direction that this team is taking in 2025, but can you deny the success, the thrill, the pure and unfettered entertainment of seeing young men arrive and carve their careers in the NFL in real time? From NT Kobie Turner to RB Kyren Williams, from OLB Jared Verse to WR Puka Nacua, the Rams future is as bright as the morning sun because this team allowed the sunset of key contributors to happen as a necessary prerequisite.

It's an exciting time to cheer for the Los Angeles Rams. The team has restocked a pass-rush from the brink of oblivion to become one of the most dominating playoff pass rushes in NFL history. Imagine how good the offense will be in two years time?

As always, thanks for reading.

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