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Los Angeles Rams Draft Round Three Press Conference – General Manager Les Snead, Head Coach Sean McVay – April 27, 2018**

(On what they like about OL Joseph Noteboom)

Snead: "Played left tackle for the last two years, started 40 straight games. Went to the Senior Bowl was able to play against some good rushers down there. At the end of the day, you got a chance to get a young offensive lineman, add depth, learn from the starters that we have and develop him to become a future player for us."

(On how ready Noteboom is to be an NFL player and how much grooming he needs before being considered a starter)

Snead: "I can tell that you that from a mental standpoint to be active on gameday, number one, you're going to have to be able to learn two positions - that's right and left tackle. He can do that. That's no problem for him. From that point forward, it's going out and earning a job on the field."

McVay: "He's had a lot of experience. You talk about starting 40 straight games. He's got experience starting at right tackle, he's played left the last two seasons. I think, when you just look at the athleticism, his ability to be able to get removal in the run game, but then also be able to just cover people up in protection. Watch the way that he can change angles, he understands those types of things. I think it's a great situation for him, being able to come in and learn behind (T) Andrew Whitworth and (T) Rob Havenstein – two tackles that we feel great about. Learn under (Run Game Coordinator) Coach (Aaron) Kromer's guidance and leadership, so it's an exciting thing. He's a very impressive person, we got a chance to meet with him at the combine. Everybody that's spent a lot of time with him, thinks very highly. We're excited about Joe."

(On how good a mentor Andrew Whitworth can be to a young offensive lineman like Noteboom)

Snead: "Joe is a lucky man. I don't think any offensive tackle would be in a better situation. That's Andrew, that's Coach (Kromer), that's Rob Havenstein, that's all of our guys. So it's a perfect situation for him to be able to come and learn from one of the best."

(On how today played out compared to their original thoughts going into today)

Snead: "We talked about this scenario, it was one of the scenarios we talked about earlier this week in preparation for tonight. 'Hey, if Joe is available, bringing in a let's call it a young offensive lineman that we can develop for the future.' So that was the scenario we talked about. When you wait until (pick) 87, there's a lot of players that you do talk about. Some were there, some weren't that we discussed. So this was one of the scenarios we discussed and we went with it along with maybe a little small trade at the end that was really, hey,we had players on the board that we liked. We felt like Joe would fall based on the teams in front of us that we were going to move behind, who they had picked earlier and their roster situation, so it was 'Ok, let's just get an extra pick and still try to get Joe as well." 

(On how today's outcome affects tomorrow with eight picks still on the board)

McVay:"I think really today's been a great representation of Les and his staff being on point with some of the things they had projected. Being able to play out a bunch of different scenarios that we kind of envisioned, and really they envisioned, is kind of where you feel good about being ready to go. Today was something that was reflective of that where a lot of different scenarios like Les mentioned, this was one that we talked through. We all felt very good about the decision we made today. To their credit, I think when you look at just the players that we have left on the board right now, having those eight picks like you mentioned with three of them in the fourth and then five in the sixth, we feel confident we're going to add some good depth to our football team but also some good football players that we feel like are going to be able to help us. That'll allow us to acquire good players number one but also be able to address some needs where we can improve our depth at certain positions. That's what's exciting is when you've got a great personnel staff led by Les, to be able to have all those plans in place and then allow the coaching staff to be a part of it as well." 

(On if Noteboom's speed stood out during the draft process)

Snead: "It's interesting because he went to the combine and probably, if you want to call it, won the combine. But I think what stood out first was, you saw that athleticism, obviously, at TCU, but when he got to Mobile (Ala.) and it translated down there against some of the better players, seniors in this draft. But when a guy goes to the combine and does what he did that does show you because measurements are not everything, you still have to play football. But what that helps us do is, OK coming in, like we said, learning under an Aaron Kromer, an Andrew Whitworth, Rob Havenstein there's upside there. He can get better. There's skills in that body that can ascend. But a lot of times with these players, too, you just want to make sure that the floor is solid as well. We felt that with Joe."

(On the remaining edge rushers and what they hope to be available in the fourth round tomorrow)

Snead:"I don't want to tip my hand on what we think about the board, but we're well aware that we're going to need some depth, probably, at that position. But what you have to do, and stay disciplined in this situation, is follow the board within common sense. As an example, if there's another position that helps us in a role that we could use, that we have a specific idea for, you take that position instead of reaching for another position."

(On if he thinks ahead on a player like Noteboom's ability to be a starter in the future or if that's too far ahead to think about)

Snead:"To pick an offensive tackle, we had vision that coming in here, getting the chances, we've repeated multiple times in this press conference, to get to be mentored by Aaron (Kromer) and Andrew (Whitworth), he definitely has a chance to do that or become that."

McVay: "Yeah, and I think that's a spot where you want to be able to have depth. Unfortunately, we know that injuries, different things come up, and when you have guys that have that type of range, that type of length, and the athleticism to be able to play both left and right, that's very valuable for us. We felt like that was going to be able to provide great value, especially with where we were able to acquire Joe. Getting him at (No.) 89 is something that we're excited about, and you can't say enough about the situation he's coming into. We've talked about it already a bunch, but I think just looking at being able to get that guidance from an Aaron Kromer, but then also have the mentorship behind an Andrew Whitworth because he is truly one of those special players that goes out of his way. He's done it at a high level for a long time, but he also goes out of his way to really help develop guys, and I think that's what makes him so special. I think he was instrumental in really helping our line as a whole last year, and I know he'll do the same thing taking Joe underneath his arm and kind of guiding him along the way."