Rams NFL Draft Grade: Just Above Average?
It wasn't what many would call a sexy haul of draft picks, but the 2022 NFL Draft saw the Los Angeles Rams snag some talent that quietly sets the team up for continued success and a shot at a Super Bowl repeat next season. LA wasn't on the clock until the second-to-last pick of the third round, but still managed to draft eight total players.
The selections?
R3 (104) — T Logan Bruss, Wisconsin
R4 (142) — CB Decobie Durant, South Carolina State
R5 (164) — RB Kyren Williams, Notre Dame
R6 (211) — S Quentin Lake, UCLA
R6 (212) — CB Derion Kendrick, Georgia
R6 (235) — EDGE Daniel Hardy, Montana State
R7 (253) — S Russ Yeast, Kansas State
R7 (261) — T AJ Arcuri, Michigan State
But according to PFF's draft grade, could the Rams have done better?
PFF released draft grades for all 32 teams Saturday and smacked the Rams with a C+. Here's what they had to say about LA's first two picks of Bruss and Durant:
Day 2: Logan Bruss has played over 1,400 career snaps at right tackle and 352 career snaps at right guard, but he projects best as a guard in the NFL. His PFF grade has improved every year of his career and earned an impressive 82.8 PFF run-blocking grade in 2021.
Day 3: After barely playing as a true freshman in 2019, Kyren Williams has been the focal point of the offense the past two seasons. Not only in the running game but as a receiver, as well. Williams’ 77 receptions the past two years were the second-most among Notre Dame receivers. He did all that despite checking in under 200 pounds. The one red flag on his production profile is his eight fumbles over that span.
Many organizations around the NFL haven't quite built the drafting reputation that LA general manager Les Snead has since joining the franchise in St. Louis in 2012, making it hard not to see future success for most of his eight selections this past weekend.
Some of Snead's best selections have included:
2012: DT Michael Brockers, 29 career sacks
2013: LB Alec Ogletree, six picks and 12 forced fumbles in five seasons with the team
2014: DT Aaron Donald, three-time Defensive Player of the Year, 98 career sacks
2015: RB Todd Gurley, 70 touchdowns in five seasons
2017: WR Cooper Kupp, 2021 Super Bowl MVP and Offensive Player of the Year
And these are just the biggest names. A handful of other of players have contributed soundly under Snead's eye.
Of course, not all of the Rams' eight new rookies will pan out in the league as Snead and coach Sean McVay might have hoped. But if the trend follows suit, there's possibly a future Pro Bowler or All-Pro amongst them.
And in the meantime, the rest of the league can view the Rams' draft haul as just plain average.
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