Turf Show Times
ESPN’s Mina Kimes explains why the Rams have a top front office in the NFL
One of the hardest things to do in the NFL and professional sports in general is understanding the championship window and when it’s time to move on. It may be easier to move on if you’ve already won. That was exactly the case for the Los Angeles Rams when they hoisted the Lombardi Trophy in 2021. For other teams, it’s very difficult to find that balance in holding out for another championship and forcing that window to stay open and eventually ripping off the band-aid and moving on to a different core group of players.
The Golden State Warriors in the NBA have been in this boat as they try to get one more championship with Steph Curry and Draymond Green at the core. While they moved on from Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala, they moved forward with one foot in the present and the other building for the future.
It’s not easy to live in two different realities and that’s especially the case in professional sports which tends to reward committing to one or the other.
This is now the world that the Rams also live in. They did the “F Them Picks” strategy with a stars and scrubs roster build. By giving up that much draft capital, the bill was supposed to come due. It was a roster that was supposed to bottom out once they couldn’t afford players like Jalen Ramsey and Leonard Floyd. Once Aaron Donald retired, there was supposed to be another step back as it’s impossible to replace one of the greatest players of all time.
However, the Rams didn’t just survive that test, but they remained competitive and have missed the postseason just once since making the Super Bowl. ESPN’s Mina Kimes explained this and how impressive it was in a podcast ranking the best NFL front offices. Said Kimes,
“Do you remember the two-track thing with the Warriors where they were like, we’re both playing for the present, but also building for the future at once? It was like a stated strategy...“the point is, this idea that a team can both be all-in with older players, but then also rebuilding at the same time with younger players. The Rams did it. It’s so hard to do. And the Rams did it. And you have to give Les Snead all the credit in the world. The fact that they did ‘F Them Picks’, won a Super Bowl, and then immediately became competitive again, through, in part, the strength of their draft picks is unbelievable. Just the last two years - Steve Avila, Byron Young, Kobie Turner, Puka Nacua. This last year - Jared Verse, Braden Fisk, Kam Kinchens...The defense post-Aaron Donald was supposed to go off of a cliff. The fact that it didn’t is Les Snead’s like masterclass to me.”
Again, following the “F Them Picks” model, the Rams’ bill was supposed to come due. That...
