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Deadpool
I was thinking about this the other day while conversing about why Meinerz makes sense and it got me to thinking. Which is never good. Anyhow. I started wondering if the Rams might be changing their drafting M.O. going forward.
Their M.O. (for at least the most part) is to draft for plugging future holes. Vary rarely are guys drafted with the thought they will contribute immediately. There are obviously exceptions, and some are forced into service early, and some force their way into the lineup early. That doesn't change how they draft.
But I got to thinking, maybe they go for more of a draft to help now approach. There are a few reasons for this.
1. With a young Jared Goff (under a new longterm deal ) had a long franchise QB window. With a soon to be 34 y.o. Stafford with 2 years left on his deal, the QB window (for now) is much, much shorter.
1a. Speaking of Stafford. He was brought to LA to bring a SB trophy home. Not get to the NFC semis every year. This leans more towards filling current holes, then worrying about future ones. Because how does filling future holes help win a SB in the next 2 years? It doesn't.
2. Speaking of old, Whit is at or near his end. I think the only draft pick that makes sense early that looks at future needs is at LT. If they don't believe in Evans or Noteboom.
3. And the last player I was thinking about is AD. He will be 30 before the season. His window might be longer than others because we are really not sure how Kryptonians age on earth under our yellow sun. But its time to get busy winning while he is at his peak or barned near it.
4. The new stadium opens to the actual public this year. Might be time to really push the pedal to the metal. Its not like they aren't winning now, but just a little more of a push. not a McVay issue, but Snead might feel that pressure from above a bit.Kronke is hands off, but even still...
5.Lastly, outside of Corbett and D. Williams (who could be tagged) there are no Rams FAs that absolutely have to be resigned. So who exactly would the Rams be drafting to replace? I guess Williams and Whit.
I'm not sure they will change their philosophy, but the thought crossed my mind if they were to, this might be the year.
I was thinking of this exact same thing earlier this week. Obviously not as in depth as you because I don't have have 5 points on why they change their pattern. Those are all good points BTW.
I was thinking of the reason why they do it this way in the first place. I could only come up with one large overarching reason:
Their team building model is to pay a handful of elite to near-elite players at specific positions and fill in around them with young, inexpensive players. As part of that model they've chosen to use 1st round picks as currency for the elite players.
And that leads us to why they draft for the future with a focus on development. When you don't have 1st round picks, and may never have any, it's pretty important to not need or demand immediate production from your rookies. 1st round picks have the best chance of contributing immediately. Once you get into the 2nd and 3rd rounds, there are reasons why they didn't go in the 1st and usually some time of development is needed.
So even if they drafted for immediate needs right now, there are not that many positions open for starting on a good team, and not that many 2nd-3rd round rookies who would instantly be better than some player they've been developing for 2 years.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/01/2021 02:10PM by dzrams.
