LA must set sights on building a sustainable future
It would be easy for the Los Angeles Rams to talk themselves into being only a star player or two away from returning to contention after making the playoffs this past season in a rebuilding year. Despite moving on from Jalen Ramsey, Leonard Floyd, Bobby Wagner, Nick Scott, A’Shawn Robinson, Greg Gaines, and others, the Rams took a high-volume approach in the draft and find several key building blocks for the future. This offseason they must remain focused on foundational pieces and cannot be distracted by trades for flashy, star players that could endanger the long-term future of the team.
Sean McVay and Les Snead may have to take a new approach to the 2024 offseason.
We know the Rams are no stranger to trades that involve swapping draft picks for proven veterans. LA’s acquisitions of Sammy Watkins, Brandin Cooks, Jalen Ramsey, and Von Miller all come to mind. At the time Los Angeles was in a championship window and felt it was best to push all their chips into the middle of the table. They went all in and it paid off big time by winning Super Bowl LVI.
Those trades are how the Rams are now holding a first round pick for the first time since 2016, and still having that pick is symbolic of how things have changed for them.
A team with Puka Nacua, Kyren Williams, Kobie Turner, Byron Young, Davis Allen, Steve Avila, and others on rookie contracts don’t need to walk the high wire and take risks on trades that leverage value draft picks. By proving they can draft in volume and identify contributors late into the draft, Snead and McVay need to do nothing other than stay the course. Just because you are expected to have a wealth of salary cap resources for the first time in a long while doesn’t mean you need to blow it all in a single offseason. Keep the credit card balance low and keep all options on the table.
So what does that mean exactly for the Rams this offseason?
Maybe instead of setting their sights on Brian Burns or Josh Allen at edge rusher, they could reel in a impact player like Bryce Huff or rotational contributor like Josh Uche that won’t break the bank. While L’Jarius Snead and Jaylon Johnson could really move the needle, it’s also fair to have concerns about free agent signings at corner after seeing the Los Angeles Chargers and JC Jackson spin apart last year. Shopping in the middle class of the open market, with say Adoree Jackson, could provide similar production at a fraction of the costs.
The Rams shouldn’t bank on solving the biggest holes on their roster through the draft—it’s advisable to take the best players without respect to need—but they shouldn’t shop at the top of the market in free agency either.
Los Angeles must also continue to build depth along the offensive line with Coleman Shelton and Kevin Dotson set to hit free agency. They’ve already released Brian Allen and could also part with Joe Noteboom.
Their defense is set to lose a significant amounts of minutes played by Jordan Fuller, John Johnson, and Ahkello Witherspoon in the secondary. While none may be worth bringing back at their price tag, their replacements may not necessarily be on the roster already either. That goes without even mentioning LA’s special teams struggles over the last two years, which can likely be explained by a lack of depth and rookies being quickly thrust into playing time on either the offense or defense.
The Rams roster has some fundamental deficiencies that the team must chip away at this offseason. They can’t talk themselves into being a star player or two away from Super Bowl contention, and their focus should be on structural improvements more than flashy moves at positions of need.
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