Snead & McVay, post-draft day 1, transcript

Rams General Manager Les Snead and Head Coach Sean McVay – NFL Draft Day One Media Availability – April 25, 2019

(On what went into the decision to trade the first round pick)

SNEAD: “Early in the process, we knew the pool of players that we might be dealing with, so you always have, okay, there’s a few favorites that if they did fall – you didn’t project them to – that maybe you hold pat and pick, but if those chosen few didn’t, we felt it would be better to again add another third-round pick. And to have, at the end of the day, four picks in the top 100 instead of just three. So that was the rationale behind that move.”

(On if it became apparent early on that a player they wanted wouldn’t be available with the 31st pick)

MCVAY: “Yeah, I think the good thing is that a lot of the things that we anticipated ended up playing itself out. It kind of went according to what we had thought in a lot of instances. There’s always a couple surprises, but I think like what we talked about over and over, there was a lot of different scenarios that we had played through. This was certainly one that we anticipated and again, it’s something we feel really good about. I think the biggest thing is when you look at the entirety of having those four picks in the top 100, the thorough job that Les and his group in working in coordination with our coaching staff, we feel really good about coming away with four good football players. And for some of the guys that we did feel like were left, to be able to go back to (No.) 45 and get that extra third (-round pick) is a big deal and something that we felt like was worth it, all things considered. It worked out the way that we wanted it to. We had some other plans that could have potentially played themselves out that didn’t, but there was clarity towards the end and that’s exactly what we had hoped for, and that’s what we got tonight.”

(On if Mississippi State DE Montez Sweat would have given them any pause had he continued to fall, and if they knew whether they had trade partners for the 31st pick regardless)

SNEAD: “Big, fast pass rushers are probably always intriguing in the NFL. But yes, throughout the day I’d gotten calls. And like in all of those situations we had to get to (No.) 31, their player that they desired had to be there, and obviously the players that we might have desired there couldn’t have been there, so you never truly know. I can honestly tell you that we didn’t really agree to the deal until I think it was two picks, but I think Atlanta had two players they would trade for, so once it got down to one pick between us and they knew they could get their two, so we agreed to the deal.”

(On how much their previous success of drafting players in the middle rounds has on their current strategy)

SNEAD: “I think it’s a big part. Again, that’s subjective – we still have to draft right and develop right. Sometimes you might scout right and then you know that – wait a minute – there might not be players at the positions you’d prefer that are worthy and maybe, if you felt that way you might hold pat and pick. So, that definitely plays into it.”

(On having no first-round picks three years in a row and if that feels normal now)

MCVAY: “It feels par for the course. There’s going to be a lot of really good football players that are drafted tomorrow for a lot of different teams and we’re very hopeful that with the way that we’ve got this thing set up and what we anticipate for tomorrow and what the game plan is, that we feel really good about the four players. And we are going to feel good just based on the entirety of the way that our top-100 is set. And that’s the thing that you feel great about. I think we can be a little bit more specific and strategic now going into year three. So, we were able to make those kinds of decisions to move back, get more players, because there’s a good pool of guys and a lot of the specific things that we’re looking at – really, for our football team. I think that approach enables us to really be intentional about the four guys that we’ll end up – or however it plays out. So, that’s a good thing for us.”

(On if there are guys on their list that have not been drafted yet)

SNEAD: “Yes. if they weren’t I don’t think we would have done the trade back. So, they’re definitely there. Again – you talk about your top-100 though, let’s say we have 30 guys that we really, really like, but you know they go all 30 in a row. That’s never occurred in my lifetime. Then you’d be like, ‘oh, jeez, those third rounders weren’t so popular.’ But, doing this for a few years, that never happens.”

(On if there’s anything about the first round of the draft that really surprised them)

SNEAD: “Every now and then there’s a few names that are maybe surprising. But, a little bit what (Head Coach) Sean (McVay) alluded to – and we probably noticed this in the last five years, when you get in the 20’s – because the draft’s obviously a great piece of content for ESPN and NFL Network – but, you hear all these names that are floated, usually it’s about 15 to 20 and then in the 20’s teams start maybe scouting specifically for schemes. That’s why you feel like, okay, if you analyze the data really good football players in the second and third. But, when you’re picking 28 it’s not a lot difference between 28 and let’s call it 34. I guess if it’s a first rounder versus second. In math, it’s 34 minus 28 since I’ve already made one error tonight, I’m not going to go on record with that, but… (laughs).”

(On what they will do when they get back to the draft room and if they are glad they have the night to sleep on their decisions for tomorrow)

SNEAD: “I definitely think so. I was telling (Director of Pro Scouting) Ray Agnew earlier this week, in the old days it was a Saturday, Sunday draft, where all of the sudden you went right in to the second round. When we first made the change you were like, ‘Oh, I kind of liked it the old way.’ But, now that you’ve been able to get that pause, sit down and re-strategize, think through things, I do think I like it this way personally better.”

MCVAY: “Yeah, absolutely. The more time that you have, the better. And to be able to regroup and look at the guys that have really eliminated themselves from really even being an option for us just clears things up and gives us a little bit more time to really tighten up the game plan for tomorrow. So, that’s always a good thing.”