Agreed. Still-with-the-team is a false measurement of draft success in the cap era. It's more layered than that.
Still in the league on a second contract, better mesurement. Still in the league and succeeding, relative to other draftees taken about the same time? Getting warmer...
Traded for player/draft position XYZ that yielded what results for the team? Valid way to look at overall success with player management when mixed with the other considerations above.
Look at who we drafted over the course of Snead's tenure, and look at how he packaged picks/personnel for trades, and most important, look at the results after factoring the injury bug out.
I've bit my tongue a little, understanding the frustration behind some of the criticism of Snead's management of the draft. It's an upper level management decision whether - and how much - coaching staff and head coach collaborate (interfere?) in the draft process. The Rams feel that more benefit is derived, overall, from the collaborative model.
I'm just a fan. I have to draw an averaging line through the ups and downs of individual years on the graph, and look for trends and overall direction. I want to know what made it work, in the good years, and what can be fixed in the off-years. Overall, the line is trending upward and has been for several years.
In the Ram's only off-year, I see the only fix as a fantasy sideline hospital that could somehow return injured players to the lineup one series after their injury.
As far as Snead's draft performance goes, I know that McVay, like Martz, is fixated on speedy little wideouts and jukey little running backs. 'Nuff said, re: Tutu vs. Humphrey slection, and some others that were head-scratchers at the time that brought us potential (in somebody's eyes) game-changers, Henderson, Pead, et al, instead of journeyman thumpers who ciuld get tough, short yardage, catch out of the backfield, and pass block. Those players were there but didn't "fit the scheme." Nor did the journeyman OL and D players who were available and not taken. To criticize the draft I have top look at the collaborative process and hope that the had coach matures and leard to delegate and defer as time goes on. Overall, it ain't been bad.
For 2023 I'm with Rich Eisen and a few others: the Rams could be a team to be reckoned with. 2022 was a pariah.
