Draft approach requires rookies to develop patience
For every college star eager to hear his name called in this week’s NFL draft, the dream is to join a good team and earn a starting role right away.
It’s hard to do both, as recent Rams rookies have learned.
Among the ways the Rams did the draft differently as they built their Super Bowlwinning roster is they rarely relied on first-year players for first-unit duty.
As much as young Rams might wish to play sooner, many who wait their turn wind up admitting it made them better in the long run.
“Just having time to spend time with what you don’t know, and figure it out and get through those hoops, is huge,” said center Brian Allen, who spent a year as understudy to veteran John Sullivan after being drafted in the fourth round in 2018, and wound up anchoring the Rams’ offensive line in 2021. “Getting time to be able to do that was awesome.”
Last season, inside linebacker Ernest Jones, a thirdround draft pick, made the most starts of any Rams rookie – seven – but not until Week 8.
The year before, safety Jordan Fuller, a sixthrounder, made 12 starts. He was the first Rams rookie with that many starts since running back Todd Gurley (12) and right tackle Rob Havenstein (13) in 2015.
In general manager Les Snead’s first five seasons from 2012-16, the Rams usually had three or four rookies start a majority of the team’s games each year. They included Havenstein and defensive tackle Aaron Donald.
But in the five years since
The Rams have eight picks in the April 28-30NFL draft:
1st round: No pick. Rams’ 1st-round pick, 32nd overall, went to the Lions in the 2021 trade for QB Matthew Stafford.
2nd round: No pick. Rams’ 2nd-round pick, 64th overall, went to the Broncos in the 2021trade for OLB Von Miller.
3rd round: Rams have 104th overall pick, compensatory for Lions hiring executive
Brad Holmes. Rams’ original 3rd-round pick, 96th overall, went to the Broncos in the Miller trade.
4th round: Rams have 142nd overall pick, compensation for losing free-agent S John Johnson to Browns. Rams’ original 4th-round pick, 137th
coach Sean McVay joined the brain trust and the Rams got good, only safety John Johnson in 2017, guard David Edwards and safety Taylor Rapp in 2019 and Fuller have started nine or more games.
Isn’t it that way for any good team? Well, no. The other three conference finalists in 2021 all leaned on rookies, the Bengals with wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase (17 games), the 49ers with running back Elijah Mitchell (10) and the Chiefs with guard Trey Smith (17) and linebacker Nick Bolton (12).
There are several reasons.
Some Rams rookies could start more games but get hurt in their first brush with the rigors of the NFL.
Snead’s success at trading first- and second-round picks for established stars means the Rams usually begin drafting after the surefire rookie starters have been taken. Barring a trade up, the Rams won’t jump into the NFL draft until overall, went to the Texans with WR Brandin Cooks in a 2020 trade for a 2020 2ndrounder, which became WR Van Jefferson.
5th round: Rams have 175th overall pick.
6th round: Rams have 211th, 212th and 218th overall picks, compensation for losing freeagent TE Gerald Everett to the Seahawks, OLB Samson Ebukam to the 49ers and CB Troy Hill to the Browns. Rams’ original sixth-round pick, 210th overall, went to the Patriots in the 2021trade for RB Sony Michel.
7th round: Rams have 238th and 253rd overall picks, the former acquired in the 2019 trade that sent CB Aqib Talib to the Dolphins.
Friday’s third round, having sent their first-round pick to the Lions in the Matthew Stafford trade and their second- and original thirdrounders to the Broncos in the Von Miller deal.
And the front office does well at anticipating key free agents’ departures and drafting potential replacements a year ahead of time. That could be a factor in draft decisions this week, with 2022 marking the final contract years for offensive linemen Havenstein and Edwards, defensive linemen A’Shawn Robinson and Greg Gaines, outside linebacker Justin Hollins and safety Taylor Rapp.
Said McVay: “I think we’ve been able to have some consistency where myself, coaches, Les and his group are able to kind of have a vision, and then you’re kind of able to get ahead on filling some of those voids that can be left year in and year out.”
The Rams don’t hold rookies back if they’re capable of starting, and they don’t go out of their way to draft players who’ll need a year.
But sometimes it plays out that way.
Of the Rams’ 12 homegrown Super Bowl starters on offense and defense, wide receiver Van Jefferson, tight end Kendall Blanton, cornerback David Long, safety Nick Scott, Allen and Gaines all made zero starts as rookies. Wide receiver Cooper Kupp made six starts as a rookie. It worked out for the 2021 NFL Offensive Player of the Year.
Joe Noteboom, expected to step into the left-tackle role of retired Andrew Whitworth in 2022, has been working toward an enduring full-time job for a long time since being drafted in the third round in 2018.
The fact that “good pick” isn’t always the same as “rookie star” makes it hard to render instant judgments about Rams’ draft classes.
“Some guys can step in and play right away and play. Some guys need a couple of years, whether it’s (because) of a system they came from, or they need a couple of years developing and getting skills down, or they’re a little raw (or) they need to learn the playbook,” Havenstein said. “It’s all person by person and team by team.”
Allen said he learned more from practicing and watching Sullivan than he would have by starting right away.
“I think I could learn without the pressure of screwing up for the organization in a game on Sundays,” the center said. “It’s hard to play as a rookie in the NFL. Every year, there’s these guys, freaks, who (do). But it’s not common. A lot of guys really do need to develop. A lot of guys struggle.”