Why Rams Aren’t Sacrificing the Future for Myles Garrett

Throughout the Les Snead era with the Los Angeles Rams, the team has operated with a “F Them Picks” mindset. While the Rams certainly value draft picks, they’ve always believed that proven players who can help win now provide more value than picking late in the first round.

The Rams traded first-round picks in 2020 and 2021 to the Jacksonville Jaguars for All Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey. Those picks ended up being the 20th and 25th overall picks in their respective drafts. In 2021, the Rams traded first-round picks to the Detroit Lions to acquire Matthew Stafford.

Those two deals were instrumental in the Rams winning the Super Bowl in 2021. However, as the Rams traded away draft picks, the narrative in the media was that the bottom would eventually fall out. After the Rams won, the media pushed the idea that the Rams were heading towards a massive rebuild.

The Rams were sacrificing their future for a championship. Following the Rams’ 2022 season, the media quickly jumped on the multi-year rebuild angle with Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio going as far as saying that McVay would step down.

“My understanding is it's not because of burnout or he wants to get into TV,” said Florio. “He won a Super Bowl and now he's facing a multi-year rebuild that he just doesn't want to be a part of.”

Instead of a multi-year rebuild, the Rams drafted well, retooled, and immediately made the playoffs. Outside of 2022, the Rams didn’t miss the playoffs. They won the NFC West in 2024 and played in the NFC Championship game last season.

Mike Macdonald and John Schneider have the rams rage-trading premium draft capital and elite young talent to get even with them for the very, very short term.

One roster is built for the decade, the other is built for 1 year. We have them exactly where we want them. #seahawks
— connor (Deathrow KP) (@keithpricetrut1) June 1, 2026

The narratives have already begun again as the Rams traded a first-round pick for Trent McDuffie as well as a future first-round pick and Jared Verse for Myles Garrett. This is allegedly a Rams team once again built for now with no consideration for the future.

However, that isn’t the case at all. In fact, the trade actually fits the Rams’ and Matthew Stafford’s timeline perfectly. After signing Matthew Stafford to a two-year extension that locks him up through 2027, the Rams understand that their window to win a Super Bowl is this year with the potential to extend into next season.

This is a Rams team that for much of the last three years has kept one foot in two different timelines. While trading for Garrett might suggest that the Rams are committed to the Stafford timeline, they are still set up in a way to have the flexibility of operating in the present and future.

Not sure what the Rams have really done to earn this much benefit of the doubt. They choked last year. Should have been the No. 1 seed and a SB team but blew almost every big game.

This is one of the saddest "BUT I WANNA WIN THE PRIZE NOW, MOMMY!" moves in NFL history.

It… https://t.co/BjUXInSflo
— Scott Kacsmar (@ScottKacsmar) June 3, 2026

During the 2025 NFL Draft, the Rams acquired a 2026 first-round pick from the Atlanta Falcons when they traded up for edge rusher James Pearce Jr. That pick gave the Rams the flexibility they needed to accomplish every move since then. A second first-round pick allowed the Rams to trade for cornerback Trent McDuffie and it gave them the flexibility to take quarterback Ty Simpson with the 13th overall pick. By addressing the future of the quarterback position, the Rams were able to trade their 2027 first-round pick for Myles Garrett.

It’s easy to look at the Garrett acquisition as this short-sighted move. However, the Rams approach their team-building in 2-3 year windows. While they may not have a first-round pick in 2027, they won’t necessarily need one. This is a team that has proven that it can find impact contributors later in the draft. Both players who the Rams extended last year were fifth and sixth-round picks in Kyren Williams and Quentin Lake.

The next time the Rams will have a first-round pick is in 2028, which is also likely the beginning of the Ty Simpson era. Simply put, the Rams have their future quarterback theoretically figured out and haven’t moved any of the assets that they would have used to build around him.

When a team trades multiple draft picks and a young player for a proven star, the natural conclusion is that they are pushing for a Super Bowl. This is something that we always see in the NBA and MLB when teams push for a championship and then the bottom falls out. This happened with the Cleveland Browns after they traded for DeShaun Watson. The Brooklyn Nets are an example as well when they brought on an aging Boston Celtics core. They won one playoff series before falling apart.

While it may be arrogant of the Rams to think they are different and they can avoid that same fate twice, there’s also no reason to think they can’t avoid it again. Garrett is still in his prime and the Rams have a young core as their foundation with Puka Nacua, Kobie Turner, and even Ty Simpson. The Rams are clearly built to succeed around Stafford’s timeline, but Simpson should allow them to sustain success even if it may not reach immediate heights.

It’s very possible that the Rams’ aggressive approach to team-building catches up to them. Without Stafford to keep them competitive, the bottom could fall out. At the same time, the Rams have proven that they can thread that needle and have earned the benefit of the doubt. It’s a tight line to walk, but it is one that the front office has shown it can navigate.

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