“The key is identifying guys that fit within our culture” – Sean McVay reveals the reason why the Rams don’t sign first-round picks

The most awaited weekend of the offseason is finally here! The 2022 NFL Draft will commence from 28-30 April 2022 in Paradise, Nevada. Teams have spent their entire offseason studying films, interviewing prospective players who are eager to set foot in the NFL and make for themselves.

Most teams believe that the Top 15 players are the only ones that have the potential to help strengthen their team. However, Super Bowl LVI winning head coach Sean McVay believes otherwise.

The Los Angeles Rams have found immense success without drafting first-round picks

The Los Angeles Rams mortgaged their future for acquiring 2009’s No.1 draft pick, Matthew Stafford. The entire league thought the Rams had lost their mind for trading their first-round picks and QB Jared Goff for Stafford who had not shown any significant improvement for the last 12 years.

The reason Sean McVay and the front office agreed to trade for Stafford was because he fit their ‘vision’. LA Rams have never relied on first-round picks to pull them out of a pickle. The last time they drafted a first-round pick was when they traded spots to select Jared Goff back in 2016.

McVay has an eye for picking players that he can groom and fit his game plan to the dot. The best example is Super Bowl LVI MVP Cooper Kupp. The 28-year-old star wide receiver was drafted by the Rams in the third round of the 2017 draft. Sebastian Joseph-Day, defensive tackle for the Los Angeles Chargers was selected in the sixth-round in 2018 by the Rams. Safeties Jordan Fuller and Nick Scott were sixth-round and seventh-round picks in 2020 and 2019 respectively.

“I think the key is identifying guys that we have a vision for” – Sean McVay prior to the 2022 NFL draft

Sean McVay in the pre-draft press conference on Tuesday said that the team has had success by drafting players for roles that are specific to their management. “I think the key is identifying guys that we have a vision for, that fit within our culture but also fit for some of the voids that we might have or areas of need,” McVay said. “There’s certain players that all 32 teams would agree that this is an elite fit.

“But [for the rest it’s] being able to have a vision, as you get later, identifying certain traits and characteristics that fit within the framework of how you envision utilizing them and helping them reach their highest potential. In a lot of those situations, you’re betting on the human being, looking at the history and the way they’re wired and their background and some of the things they bring to the table.”

The Rams have eight picks in the 2022 Draft and their first selection is No.104 a compensatory pick in the third round. The Rams had to let go of their first-round picks for QB Matthew Stafford and second and third-round picks for Von Miller who is now a part of the Buffalo Bills. Let’s see which player is lucky enough to be picked by the World Champions to defend their title in the 2022 season.

Also Read: “Will defend the Super Bowl title” – Sean McVay turns down $100M Million TV deal to stay with the Rams and ‘win it back!’