counting down to draft day

Sean McVay, Les Snead’s pre-draft presser: Rams’ notes, news — and unhinged moments

https://theathletic.com/5440003/2024/04/23/rams-nfl-draft-sean-mcvay-les-snead-takeaways/?source=emp_shared_article

By Jourdan Rodrigue

What do pick trades, Bo Nix’s father’s highlights at Auburn in the 1990s, potential alter egos and a Reddit user possibly named “Dangling_Fury” all have in common?

More than you might think! All of these topics and more were visited by Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay and general manager Les Snead in Tuesday’s wonderfully weird pre-draft news conference. In its unintentionally unhinged way, it served as both a reflection of the smokescreens, chatter and wild rumors of draft week and the word-vomit relief to finally just get on with it.

Here is everything notable mixed in with the strange — though if you’re expecting real answers from the GM and head coach of any NFL team this time of year, you’re in the wrong place.

Shocking nobody, all options are on the table at No. 19

Snead has said this before but reiterated Tuesday: The Rams are exploring and open to trading up, trading back or staying put at No. 19 on Thursday night depending on how the draft unfolds, though he did say the pick itself “allows us to add a Thursday night-caliber player” who could address a number of needs.

“The interesting thing about the first round is a lot of those players that get picked in the first round are for the most part very good football players,” Snead said. “The key with what we’re trying to do now is within the nuance of our scheme, our needs, who fits us and who doesn’t? Sometimes the hard part about the first round is who not to pick, not necessarily who to pick, and also who is available when you do pick.”

Smirking and unprompted, Snead later asked: “Have you met our friend ‘Dangling hashtag furry’? He’s a Reddit pal of ours.” (A Reddit search indicates that the post in question and the latter part of the user’s name is “fury,” but reflected here is Snead’s repeated pronunciation.) “I think the other day on Reddit he broke that we were gonna trade up into the top 10. He said he had ‘intimate sources’ in the building. So, you know, he’s close to the program. We really like Dangling.”

McVay interjected, “I’d really like to know who those sources are.”

Snead continued: “Here’s the deal, though. He said we’re gonna take an O-L (offensive lineman). I’m like, ‘Man, he doesn’t know coach McVay.’”

Still later in the news conference, McVay asked: “Is this actually a real person? It’s Les’ alter ego?”

Snead added: “You know what I do know, I had our IT group go to Reddit. … We have a lot of millennial, Gen Z. So they’re deep into the Reddit world. I said, ‘Hey, can you get me that cat’s name?’ I’m not sure, I’ve never met Dangling. Didn’t see a picture of him.”

McVay prepares for his first first-round pick

The Rams last drafted in the first round in 2016. Since McVay became head coach in 2017, all but one (safety Taylor Rapp in 2019) of the Rams’ initial draft picks have been used for offensive players (though obviously not first-rounders).

A reporter asked McVay about the external narrative that he would be more likely to gravitate strongly toward offensive players with his inaugural first-round pick.

“That is not an accurate assumption,” he said, laughing. “Now, are you saying that I get excited about an offensive player? Yeah! But I get damn sure excited about a defensive player, too! What the hell?”

Added Snead: “People who score touchdowns are important in this league. So, just keep that in mind. And I think I’ve even said it as we’ve gone through this together, that Thursday night — whether you pick an offensive player or defensive player — the vision is to be a net positive for the Rams, not necessarily looking at it from one side of the ball.”

The Rams do not assign traditional measurements such as “first-round grades” on players or grade by round at all. Snead referred to their organization of certain players as a “depth chart,” inclusive of possible schematic and personal fit with the organization.

Aaron Donald’s legacy in the scout room

Donald may have retired this spring, but one point of emphasis he conveyed to Snead and the scouting staff about the players they were about to bring in entering the 2023 draft continues as a legacy in that department.

“(It is) in honor of Aaron Donald, when he said, ‘Hey, I’ll play beside everyone as long as they care.’ We call it the ‘care factor,’” Snead said. “It’s a lot of the person’s intangibles, and how much of those intangibles inspire, ignite, whatever, the player to do things behaviorally that show they care about football. There’s a lot of people in this building who care about football, and we’d like to partner with them. We try to figure that out.”

Speaking of Donald, Snead kept his answer succinct when asked how much he’d like to select a defensive lineman with one of the Rams’ top four picks: “It would definitely be a net positive for the Rams.”

Backup quarterback is stocked, but would that prevent a draft pick?

Reporters do not have full access to the initial phase of OTAs, which are purely workout/meeting/non-football sessions, so McVay and Snead were able to confirm on the record that last year’s fourth-round pick, Stetson Bennett, is back on campus and participating in the voluntary practices. Bennett had been away from the team since September while dealing with an undisclosed matter that designated him to the non-football/illness list.

“He’s done a great job being engaged in the meetings, we’ve had a lot of individual meetings up to this point,” McVay said. “I know (quarterbacks coach) Dave Ragone has really enjoyed his interaction with him throughout the first six days. … It’s been good. He looks good, he’s had a good look in his eye, he’s been attentive in the meetings. I’m looking forward to next week (and) being able to get out on the grass with all of our players, Stetson being one of them.”

The Rams signed Jimmy Garoppolo to back up starter Matthew Stafford in 2024. Stafford had an outstanding season in 2023, but his age, injury history and the remaining time left on his deal have prompted questions about what comes next for the Rams. Despite having a full backup quarterback room, McVay said “I think you leave all options on the table,” when it comes to possibly drafting a quarterback.

“You all know my relationship with Bo Nix’s father, it’s been well-reported this week,” said Snead, sarcastically referencing some pre-draft buzz circulating this week about the topic. Snead was a graduate assistant at Auburn in the early ’90s, when Nix’s dad, Patrick, was the starting quarterback. “It was a joke. Bo’s father and I were once teammates at Auburn. … But I do know this, Patrick Nix did come off the bench, what a play. We’re on probation, it’s the last game of the season, we’re losing to Alabama …”

Sensing a soliloquy into history, McVay’s eyes began to glaze over.

“It’s fourth-and-10,” Snead continued. “Now, it’s interesting. I’m not sure (Auburn coach) Terry Bowden really, some people said, ‘Did he really know it was fourth-and-10?’ But he said we were in no-man’s land. We’re probably on about their 38-yard line. Patrick Nix’s first pass of the ’93 season was basically a go-ball to Frank Sanders to take the lead and the momentum in the Auburn-Alabama rivalry. We finished the season 11-0, on probation, so we didn’t have to go probably get beat by Florida in the SEC championship. We can live forever undefeated.”

Anyway, the NFL draft begins Thursday.