Putting together a lot of things Snead says about this philosophy, and then watching what he does, I'd have to say that he's a straight shooter. And besides, after these last few years, you see his pattern.
Basically what has become clear is that anytime the Rams are in the last half dozen spots of the 1st round, he is way more likely to trade down than stay pat. And he seems to have enough solid relationships with other league GMs that he finds trading partners (and BTW, from things I've read, that's only the case with a few GMs who are considered fair and straight shooters). Should a guy they really like unexpectedly fall to them, Snead will pull the trigger. But if not, then as he says, there's usually not much difference between 28 and 34 and so a trade down probably makes sense.
Snead loves 3rd round picks. I swear if he could just forego rounds 1 and 2 and have about five or six 3rd rounders he'd be a happy man. And who can argue given his 3rd round successes.
Clearly Snead also believes that typically the top 100 players are going to be really good NFL players IF they fit what the team is looking or and IF they are properly developed. So aside from the small handful of super studs that are pretty much easy to separate from the rest, the remaining guys in the first 100 aren't that far apart in his mind. Rather it gets very scheme specific AND needs specific, according to Snead, starting about 20 in the 1st round.
So while I predicted the Rams would stay at 31 and draft, I was also predicating that on certain guys that most mocks had lasting until 31 being there and almost all were gone much earlier (like Lawrence and Tillery).
And BTW: anyone that still thinks that need isn't maybe the largest factor in the draft just look at what happened in the 1st round this year. Even the Pats taking a WR was a NEEDS pick. Giants taking a QB that many thought was no better than 2nd round was NEEDS pick. Redskins taking a QB not because he was taken too high but because they NEEDED a QB. And when you see a team trade back into the 1st round, you can bet it's to fill a NEED.
Anyway, today is going to be a lot more fun for a Rams fan with 4 picks. Assuming Snead doesn't start trading those.
