When the Rams won Super Bowl LVI, General Manager Les Snead completely embraced the team's "F them picks" reputation by saying Los Angeles would continue to use high-round draft picks to win more trophies.
But while L.A. hasn't made a first-round selection since the Obama administration, the team has still used its mid- and late-round picks effectively.
Receiver Cooper Kupp is one example, as he was drafted in the third round in 2017. While defensive tackle Sebastian Joseph-Day signed with the Chargers in free agency, he was a sixth-round selection in 2018 and started for most of the season before an injury kept him out until the Super Bowl. Safety Jordan Fuller, a sixth-round pick in 2020, also started during the 2021 season and when he suffered an injury, 2019 seventh-round safety Nick Scott filled in during the postseason.
As head coach Sean McVay put it in his pre-draft press conference on Tuesday, the Rams have found success by targeting players for specific roles within their systems.
"I think the key is identifying guys that we have a vision for, that fit within our culture but also fit for some of the voids that we might have or areas of need," McVay said, via Kevin Modesti of the Southern California News Group. "There's certain players that all 32 teams would agree that this is an elite fit. But [for the rest it's] being able to have a vision, as you get later, identifying certain traits and characteristics that fit within the framework of how you envision utilizing them and helping them reach their highest potential.
"In a lot of those situations, you're betting on the human being, looking at the history and the way they're wired and their background and some of the things they bring to the table."
The Rams currently have eight picks in the 2022 draft, but their first selection isn't until No. 104, a compensatory pick late in the third round. The club used its first-round pick to trade for quarterback Matthew Stafford and its second and third-round picks to trade for edge rusher Von Miller.
Sean McVay on NFL draft: The key is identifying guys we have a vision for originally appeared on Pro Football Talk
