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When the Patriots selected Cole Strange in the first round of the NFL draft on Thursday night, the NFL world was surprised with the pick. That led to a viral moment, where Rams coach Sean McVay joked the Rams were considering Strange with their first pick at No. 104 in the third round.
On Friday night, McVay and general manager Les Snead clarified that their reaction was not meant to criticize Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and the Patriots or Strange.
“Because of how that video went viral in fun, that was the chemistry between us and us going through this process trying to evaluate,” Snead said via ProFootballTalk, “but I know Sean talked to Cole this morning, did talk to Coach Belichick this morning just to say, ‘Hey, we—there was nothing—we really like that player.’ Sean was just jest at myself for, ‘Hey, why did we waste our time on him again?’”
McVay added he was reacting more so because they like Strange as a player and thought he would be a steal for Los Angeles in the third round.
“I wish that it wouldn’t have gotten misunderstood,” McVay said. “It was more of a reflection of, I was actually giving Les some, you know, a hard time because when we started watching him, I think we both were in agreement, there’s no way he’d be there because we like the player so much.”
Additionally, McVay made sure to mention how highly he thinks of Belichick and how much he trusts the Patriots head coach’s player evaluations.
“If there’s anybody that has more respect for Coach Belichick, what he’s done, than I do, I’d like to see him,” McVay said. “Because I have tremendous respect for this profession, for the players that play at this level, and I would never want it to get misunderstood for Cole Strange or the Patriots organization that anything but respect for the player.”
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For more Los Angeles Rams coverage, go to Ram Digest.
