What is Kes Snead’s ‘draft weakness’ as Rams GM?

What is Les Snead’s ‘draft weakness’ as Rams GM?
TST writing staff debates the Rams weakness in the draft under GM Les Snead

[www.turfshowtimes.com]

Kenneth Arthur



After having previously discussed what the Rams draft ‘super power’ is under GM Les Snead, the Turf Show Times writing staff next turned to L.A.’s biggest draft weakness.

Q - What do you think is the biggest DRAFT MISTAKE that the Rams have consistently made, let’s say in the Les Snead/Sean McVay era, so back to 2017? Or if you prefer, going over Snead’s entire history as a GM, what is maybe an oversight of the team under his leadership in terms of evaluating prospects and utilizing the draft to make the team better? For example, not one “bust” but strategically, an oversight you see in Snead’s history.

Blaine Grisak:

“I do think Snead overrates positional value when it comes to the draft. The biggest example here would be taking Tutu Atwell over Creed Humphrey. The center position isn’t typically seen as a “valuable” position and therefore, the Rams prioritized wide receiver. The same can be said about the linebacker position. In the Les Snead era, the Rams haven’t taken a linebacker inside the top-100 since 2013. This isn’t to say that some positions shouldn’t be prioritized over others. However, the draft can be very random. The goal should be to get good players. Humphrey being a better player than Atwell isn’t an act of hindsight. That’s something that most people were sure of back in 2021.”

Danny Stone:

“My immediate thought is drafting smaller but speedy receivers. The Rams drafted Tavon Austin super high and he had moments but never really lived up to the hype. Tutu Atwell I feel like has been a similar story but he was not a first round pick. I do think Tutu has shown flashes but it’s easy to wonder if the Rams should’ve used the second round pick on another position. It’s not that Austin or Atwell are total misses but I wouldn’t say they were exactly hits for the Rams either.”

Evan Craig:

“Maybe not a consistent thing but drafting gadget players who haven’t worked out is enough of a mistake to call Snead on. Tavon Austin and Tutu Atwell were never the right fit for the Rams. Austin was at least productive in some regards, he just didn’t play in an offense that could properly capitalize on his dynamic skill set. I’m also not going to reignite the whole Tutu/Creed Humphrey debate here. Picking Atwell in 2021 was too cutesy at the time and I would’ve been fine with it if Tutu was better utilized by the coaching staff. Atwell has plenty of potential and displayed it early last season, yet was slowly phased out of the offense. It’s a shame as I do like the player but I blame most of his shortcomings on McVay for not carving out a suitable role for him.”

Jake Ellenbogen:

“There haven’t been too many but the oversight at EDGE is alarming and until last year the Rams really didn’t address that position seriously in the draft. When the Rams did choose to draft an EDGE it wasn’t until normally day three of the draft. It’s a big reason they have had to trade for someone to fill the void.”

Kenneth Arthur:

One mistake the Rams should avoid making is falling for the assumption that because of 2023, the team is now able to draft Pro Bowl/All-Pro players in round three and later on a consistent basis. The NFL has a long list of GMs who were called “geniuses” for their draft class only a few years before being fired for draft mistakes to come. This is not to say that Snead need have any concerns of his job security or that L.A. can’t have another good day three performance, but now is probably as good of a time as any to use that first round pick on a prospect if the team feels the best player on the board at 19 could be a huge asset.