The Rams made no splashy selections.
None of the six players general manager Les Snead and coach Sean McVay chose will be penciled in as opening-game starters.
They spent three days filling out a roster that was already Super Bowl ready.
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But the Rams, arguably, won the 2025 NFL draft.
And set themselves up to possibly win next year’s draft as well.
Snead protege James Gladstone, the first-year general manager of the Jacksonville Jaguars, made headlines on the first night of the draft by trading up to take cornerback/receiver Travis Hunter with the second overall pick.
Read more: Rams 2025 NFL draft: A close look at each of their six draft picks
But when Snead later traded to the Atlanta Falcons what for the Rams was a fairly meaningless No. 26 pick, the Rams stunningly received in return a No. 1 pick in 2026.
That means the Rams, who one day in the not-so-distant future must replace veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford, will have two first-round picks next year in a draft that could include Texas quarterback Arch Manning and others.
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That means Snead — who famously uttered “F them picks” after building a Super Bowl championship team in 2021 — will have plenty of draft capital to wheel and deal with for a prospect or an established player.
And few general managers deal like Snead.
Next April marks the 10th anniversary of Snead trading up a record 14 picks to select quarterback Jared Goff with the No. 1 pick in the 2016 draft.
That deal required the Rams to give up their first-round pick, two second-round picks and a third-round pick that year and a 2017 first-round and third-round pick.
Two years later the Rams were in the Super Bowl.
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In 2019, Snead packaged two first-round picks in a deal for cornerback Jalen Ramsey. Two years later the Rams won the Super Bowl.
Oregon tight end Terrance Ferguson takes part in a drill at the NFL scouting combine in February. Ferguson was the Rams’ top pick of the 2025 NFL draft. (Michael Conroy / Associated Press)
They did that, of course, after Snead sent Goff — and two first-round draft picks — to the Detroit Lions in a 2021 trade for Stafford.
This season the Rams are expected to make another deep run in the playoffs. And if Thursday night’s trade helps the Falcons make the playoffs, the Rams’ first-round picks next year could be in the bottom third of the draft.
Regardless, it is valuable draft capital.
And if the Falcons or Rams falter, the Rams could end up with a pick in the top third.
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Not that McVay acknowledged his anticipation.
“One year’s like dog years to me in coaching,” he said, chuckling, “That’s a long way away.”
After making that trade on the first night of the draft, the Rams spent Friday and Saturday augmenting a talented roster with their fewest selections since the Goff trade left them with only six in 2016.
Auburn running back Jarquez Hunter breaks away for a touchdown against Alabama State in September 2021. (Butch Dill / Associated Press)
They took Oregon tight end Terrance Ferguson in the second round, Michigan outside linebacker Josaiah Stewart in the third, Auburn running back Jarquez Hunter in the fourth, Ohio State defensive tackle Ty Hamilton and Mississippi linebacker Chris Paul Jr. in the fifth and Pittsburgh receiver Konata Mumpfield in the seventh.
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The Rams traded up three times.
“We said, ‘instead of waiting,’ and I call it, let the draft happen to you, ‘let’s go attack the draft,’” Snead said. “And when you do that you have to give up some picks. But we thought that was the more appropriate thing to do.”
No, the Rams did not draft a cornerback.
But that only makes it more apparent that a potential reunion with Ramsey might be imminent.
Read more: Analysis: How the NFL draft impacts the schedule, turning teams into must-see TV
Coming on the heels of the Rams’ success in the previous two drafts, this class projects to include multiple contributors for a team that advanced to the NFC divisional round last season before losing to the eventual Super Bowl-champion Philadelphia Eagles.
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With Stafford entering his 17th NFL season, and rising stars such as receiver Puka Nacua, Kobie Turner, Jared Verse and other young players soon becoming eligible for extensions, the Rams are going all in next season.
And they will do the same in 2026, when the NFL season will end with Super Bowl LXI at SoFi Stadium.
The Rams’ savvy but effective 2025 draft sets them up for another possible title.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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