Drafting rookies is hard. Ask any general manager, scout or head coach. Finding future stars in the NFL is extremely difficult, and even landing a handful of starters in one class is a challenge.
For the most part, Rams GM Les Snead has done a good job selecting players in the draft. He found Aaron Donald, Jared Goff, Cooper Kupp, Michael Brockers, Tyler Higbee, Todd Gurley and Rob Havenstein. Lately, though, the results have been more of a mixed bag.
Since 2017, the Rams have had their share of misses, with the 2020 class immediately coming to mind. After trading Van Jefferson to the Falcons, the Rams have just three players left from that nine-player class: Brycen Hopkins, Jordan Fuller and Tremayne Anchrum Jr., two of whom are backups.
Not a single player from that class has received a contract extension yet, and it’s unclear if any of them will next offseason when they become free agents. It could follow the path of the 2019 class, which the Rams have no players left on the roster from.
Widening the scope, it’s become common practice for Los Angeles to let draft picks leave, either via trade, release or in free agency. Since Sean McVay took over as the head coach in 2017, only three players drafted by the Rams have gotten second contracts.
- Cooper Kupp: three years, $48 million (2020)
- Joe Noteboom: three years, $40 million (2022)
- Brian Allen: three years, $18 million (2022)
Typically, the mark of a good draft pick is a second contract. If a team doesn’t give a player a second contract before or after their rookie contract expires, it’s usually a sign that the player didn’t do enough to earn a long-term extension – unless they priced themselves out of the team’s range in free agency.
For the Rams, many of their draft picks since 2017 simply haven’t panned out, and it’s not as if they’ve gone on to have big years with other teams. Sure, Taylor Rapp, Greg Gaines and David Edwards were solid players, but they didn’t turn into must-keep free agents.
And obviously, the 2020 class is headed down the same road with Cam Akers and Jefferson being traded, Terrell Lewis and Terrell Lewis being cut last year and Clay Johnston and Sam Sloman failing to make it through their rookie years in L.A.
The Rams have overcome some draft misses and still won a Super Bowl, but it’s not often this team nails a pick that becomes a high priority when their rookie contract expires. Hopefully Ernest Jones, Cobie Durant, Steve Avila and Byron Young (among others) can change that narrative in Los Angeles.
