THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Rams general manager Les Snead and head coach Sean McVay on Tuesday held their joint pre-draft press conference ahead of this week's 2024 NFL Draft – scheduled to take place Thursday, April 25 through Saturday, April 27 – discussing how they view the 19th overall pick and the options with it, as well as their method for grading players, among other topics.
Here are some of the highlights and key takeaways from that conversation:
'All options' still on the table with first-round pick
The Rams are scheduled to make a selection in the first round for the first time since 2016 – they were slated to in 2018 before trading out of the round – and, as Snead has said throughout the offseason, all options still remain on the table when it comes to trading up from, trading back from, or making the pick at No. 19.
"All three of those options are probably as real as it can get, in a reality, for sure, and we're going to explore all three," Snead said.
Process isn't all that different with a first-round pick in the mix
So, yes, it has been a long time since the Rams made a first-round pick, but the approach to the preparation isn't all that different, according to McVay and Snead.
It's "probably common sense," Snead said, that more intentional time is being spent with a certain subset of players.
"And even in years past, even if you set aside a subset to say, 'We probably should spend less time with these players,' if one of them did slip to within striking distance if we weren't picking in the first, you'd have Friday morning 'til probably 4 o'clock pacific to be a little more intentional about, 'wait a minute, we weren't expecting this to occur, let's now fast-forward it, let's cram for the exam,'" Snead said.
It's still about evaluating scheme and needs the fits for both, too.
"Sometimes the hard part about the first round is who not to pick, not necessarily who to pick, and actually also who's available when you do pick," Snead said.
McVay later added, "it really hasn't been as different as maybe you guys think because you always have to play the contingency plans, whether it's a move back or a move up. There was guys last year, like I told you guys after we were fortunate to come away with Steve (Avila), we had identified, Les and his group and us, that we wanted to move up for, and we made some calls to see if that could happen."
What's in a grade?
Snead said the Rams don't grade by round, instead projecting based on vision for the player and a depth chart.
"We have a depth chart, and what's the vision for the player early?" Snead said. "But really, you're looking at, what do you think this player is going to be when he gets to the NFL, when he gets settled, when we develop him, all of that? Where's he fit on the depth chart? And at that point, you make your decisions."
