Honestly, if you look at the LA Rams draft history over the last decade, it feels like a fever dream for traditionalists. Most general managers treat first-round picks like gold bars. Les Snead treats them like currency to be spent as fast as possible. You’ve seen the shirt. "F*** them picks." It wasn't just a meme; it became the organizational identity of a team that went seven straight years without picking in the first round.
It’s wild.
People thought they were crazy. Critics screamed that the Rams were mortgaging their future. Then they won Super Bowl LVI. Suddenly, the "Rams House" looked like the smartest building in the NFL. But to understand how this team actually functions, you have to look past the trades for Matthew Stafford or Jalen Ramsey. You have to look at how they actually use the picks they do keep.
The Era of Missing First Rounders
The streak started in 2017. Most people forget that the Rams gave up a king's ransom to move up for Jared Goff in 2016. That move effectively wiped out their 2017 first-round capital. From there, it became a lifestyle. They traded firsts for Brandin Cooks, then Ramsey, then Stafford. For years, the LA Rams draft history was defined by who wasn't there on Thursday night.
But here’s the thing: they didn't stop drafting. They just got really, really good at finding guys on Friday and Saturday.
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Take Cooper Kupp. Drafted in the second round in 2017 out of Eastern Washington. He wasn't the fastest. He wasn't from a blue-blood program. Yet, he became a Triple Crown winner. That's not luck. That’s a scouting department that stopped looking for "traits" and started looking for "football players." When you look at the LA Rams draft history, the mid-round success is what actually kept the lights on while the stars got the headlines.
How the 2023 and 2024 Classes Changed the Narrative
Eventually, the bill comes due. Or so we thought. By 2023, the roster was top-heavy and expensive. They needed a massive infusion of cheap talent. This is where the LA Rams draft history takes a fascinating turn. Instead of one or two stars, they flooded the zone.
They took Steve Avila in the second round—a plug-and-play guard who looked like a ten-year veteran from day one. But the real heist? Puka Nacua in the fifth round.
Puka broke records. He was the 177th pick. Let that sink in for a second. Every single team passed on him multiple times. Some teams passed on him five times. The Rams saw something in his contested-catch ability and his high-IQ route running that everyone else missed. Then they found Kobie Turner in the third round and Byron Young shortly after. They essentially rebuilt an entire defensive front in one weekend.
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Then came 2024. For the first time since the Obama administration, the Rams actually used a first-round pick. They stayed put at 19 and took Jared Verse. It felt weird watching them pick on night one. But Verse, along with second-round teammate Braden Fiske, showed that the Rams weren't just trading for defense anymore—they were building it from the ground up again.
The Jeff Fisher Hangover and the Todd Gurley Peak
We can't talk about the LA Rams draft history without acknowledging the dark ages. Before Sean McVay showed up and made everything look easy, the Rams were stuck in a 7-9 loop.
Jeff Fisher’s era was defined by defensive line obsession. Some worked. Aaron Donald at pick 13 in 2014 is arguably the greatest draft pick in the history of the franchise. Maybe the history of the league. He was "undersized." Scouts worried he'd get washed out by double teams. Instead, he became a wrecking ball that defined a generation.
But there were misses, too. Greg Robinson at number two overall in 2014? Ouch. That’s a scar that still hasn't quite healed for some fans. For every Todd Gurley (2015), there was a Tavon Austin (2013)—a player with world-class speed that the coaching staff simply never figured out how to use.
The transition from the St. Louis days to Los Angeles also shifted the draft philosophy. In St. Louis, it was about survival. In LA, under Les Snead and McVay, it became about "calculated aggression." They realized that a proven veteran is worth more than a 50/50 shot on a rookie, provided you can fill the rest of the roster with high-floor contributors in rounds 3 through 7.
Addressing the "Sustainable" Argument
Is it sustainable? That’s the question every analyst asks during every draft cycle.
The consensus used to be a hard "no." You can't keep giving away premium picks and stay competitive. But the Rams proved that draft capital is just one way to build. If you're elite at identifying talent in the compensatory pick range—those 3rd and 4th rounders you get when your free agents leave—you can survive.
Look at the LA Rams draft history with offensive linemen and specialists. They rarely miss on the "boring" picks. They found Rob Havenstein in the second round back in 2015. He’s been a foundational tackle for nearly a decade. They found Kyren Williams in the fifth round.
The nuanced view is that the Rams aren't "anti-draft." They are "anti-overvaluing-the-unknown." They'd rather have a 26-year-old All-Pro than a 21-year-old project. It’s a business philosophy applied to a violent game.
Key Takeaways from the Rams' Approach
If you're trying to make sense of the LA Rams draft history, don't just count the first-rounders. Count the snaps played by Day 3 picks. That is the real metric of their success.
- Scout for Role, Not Just Talent: The Rams don't just draft the "best player available." They draft players who fit McVay's specific, highly complex systems. If a receiver can't block, he's not on the board.
- The "Value" of 1st Rounders is Relative: The Rams value a first-round pick as a trade asset more than a player. To them, a pick is a "point value" used to acquire a known quantity.
- Internal Development is King: You can't trade away picks if you can't coach up the guys you keep. The Rams' ability to turn late-rounders like Jordan Fuller or Quentin Lake into starters is what allows the stars to shine.
- Don't Fall in Love with Consensus: If the Rams like a guy like Cole Turner or Puka Nacua, they don't care what the "draft experts" say. They trust their board.
The LA Rams draft history is a lesson in organizational alignment. From the owner down to the area scouts, everyone knows the plan. They aren't trying to win the draft; they're trying to win the Sunday after the draft.
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To really track where this team is going, keep an eye on their compensatory pick projections. Those extra third and fourth-rounders are the lifeblood of the "F*** them picks" era. Without them, the whole system collapses. With them? They're always a trade away from another ring.
If you want to dive deeper into the current roster, start by looking at the snap counts for the 2023 and 2024 classes. You'll see exactly how much this team relies on youth, despite their reputation for being "old and expensive." Check the official NFL transaction logs for "Rams" and "Compensatory" to see how they've mastered the art of the exit—letting players walk in free agency to gain the very picks they use to find the next Puka Nacua.