Would you take Puka Nacua’s ‘23 class or Jared Verse’s ‘24 class?

Who were we right about? And which class flopped most?

Sean McVay and Les Snead have partnered to lead nine NFL drafts during their tenure together with the Los Angeles Rams. The tandem has only ever held a first round draft selection in 3 of the 9 drafts but when the dust has settled, the GM and young head coach have only drafted one first rounder in that time span: Jared Verse. Not many GMs and head coaches would be able to succeed in today’s NFL using that type of strategy and operation. But that’s a credit to the two minds leading this franchise and how they have ultimately found tremendous success on Days 2 and 3 of the draft. Here’s a look back on each class and regrading each one from their initial assessment.

Recap: The Rams will be remembered in this draft for selecting Cooper Kupp in the third round. Anytime you draft a triple crown winner and SB MVP, it usually grades well. But the Rams had contributions from their first five selections. Gerald Everett did not quite live up to expectations probably in large part due to his limited size. However, John Johnson was a top safety in the league for a five year span; earning a contract with the Cleveland Browns. Josh Reynolds served as a WR3 for the Rams when Kupp tore his ACL in 2018. Reynolds then rejoined Brad Holmes in Detroit soon after.

Best Player: Cooper Kupp

Grade: B

Recap: After going “all-in” in the offseason, the Rams did not have a ton of draft capital early but were flush with Day 2 and 3 picks. The Rams found John Franklin-Myers in the 4th round, Ogbonnia Okoronkwo in the 5th, and Sebastian Joseph-Day in the 6th but JFM was surprisingly released in the training camp the next offseason. SJD would anchor the starting nose tackle position for Los Angeles in his second season until halfway through 2021 when he suffered a torn pectoral muscle. The head scratching component of this class was that Sean McVay and Les Snead always something in Joseph Noteboom and Brian Allen yet they underwhelmed when thrust into starting roles and when receiving second contracts.

Best Pick: Overall...John Franklin-Myers. For the Rams...Sebastian Joseph-Day.

Grade: C

Recap: In 2019, the Rams actually had a first round pick but traded back twice to select Taylor Rapp. Henderson saw time as the starting running back following Todd Gurley’s demise. There were late round contributors with Greg Gaines, David Edwards, and Nick Scott. In evaluation, the Rams chose the wrong Memphis running back as Tony Pollard has had the more successful career to date.

Best Player: Greg Gaines

Grade: D+

Recap: When the Brandin Cooks experiment did not work, LA shipped Cooks to the Houston Texans for a second round pick (Van Jefferson). Unfortunately, I think this draft class was the worst in the Snead/McVay era because they did not parlay two...