The Los Angeles Rams and general manager Les Snead have developed a reputation for rarely retaining their first-round draft picks, choosing instead to trade them for star players on their quest to win Super Bowls. It has worked out for the most part, but it also puts more pressure on the front office to really hit on their picks when they do draft.
Thankfully for the Rams, that has been the case more often than not recently and there are numbers that bear this out. According to Steven Patton of Stat Rankings, the Rams lead the NFL in approximate value over expectation for draft picks since 2022:
Approximate Value Over Expectation for draft picks since 2022:
1. Rams (+125.2)
2. Buccaneers (+92.4)
3. Bills (+79.6)
4. Packers (+76.5)
5. Seahawks (+64.7)
…
28. Titans (-26.7)
29. Browns (-35.1)
30. Cardinals (-36.7)
31. Panthers (-39.5)
32. Vikings (-61) pic.twitter.com/xmLRKJYQ6P— Steven Patton (@PattonAnalytics) March 19, 2026
What this means is that the Rams are getting more production from players based on where they are drafted than any other team in the league. With the Rams only having one first-round pick since 2022, they have had to find impact players in the middle and late rounds and Snead and the front office have done just that.
The 2023 draft is a prime example of this as the Rams took All-Pro receiver Puka Nacua in the fifth round while also adding Pro Bowl linebacker Byron Young and starting defensive tackle Kobie Turner in the third, starting offensive lineman Steve Avila in the second and punter Ethan Evans in the seventh.
The year before, in 2022, the prized selection was Pro Bowl running back Kyren Williams who was a fifth rounder, but they also found cornerback Cobie Durant in the fourth and safety Quentin Lake in the sixth.
The Rams’ lone first round pick in this time frame came in 2024 and they took Jared Verse, who has been a Pro Bowler in his first two NFL seasons, while second-rounder Braden Fiske and third-rounders Blake Corum and Kamren Kinchens have been contributors as well.
This is simply a testament to the outstanding job Snead and the rest of the Rams’ front office has done. While so much attention gets paid to the big trades that are made, credit is deserved for his ability to draft well.
Trent McDuffie looking forward to battles with Puka Nacua in Rams practice
The Rams again made a huge trade this offseason, acquiring All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie from the Kansas City Chiefs. And McDuffie is looking forward to being able to face off with Puka Nacua on a daily basis in practice.