The all-time Best Les Snead Draft Picks Rams offense

How good is the Rams offense if we only look at players drafted by Les Snead since 2012?

How good would the Rams offense be if they only had players who were drafted by general manager Les Snead and they were all in their prime at the same time?

Very good, but they would also have some major weaknesses on the offensive line and as we saw in the 2018 Super Bowl, at quarterback.

These are the best players at every offensive position who were drafted by Les Snead, who got the job in 2012, retained it even after Jeff Fisher was fired in 2016, and has had some of the most success in the draft of any GM.

QB – Jared Goff, 1st overall in 2016 (plus trade package)

After only taking middling shots at QB prior to 2016 (third rounder Sean Mannion, sixth rounder Garrett Gilbert), Snead went big and didn’t go home after trading up from 15 to 1 for Goff. The move paid off immediately with a Super Bowl trip in 2018, but paid off even bigger when Snead traded Goff and two more first rounders to the Lions for Matthew Stafford.

Since 2016, Stetson Bennett is the only QB drafted by Snead.

RB – Todd Gurley, 10th overall in 2015

The “what could have been” question will linger forever, but the 2015 Offensive Rookie of the Year and 2017 Offensive Player of the Year left a mark that also won’t be forgotten. Snead’s regret isn’t drafting Gurley so high, it’s extending him in 2018 when the writing was already on the wall that he was nearly finished.

Snead has picked five day two picks and so far none of them (Blake Corum pending) have been worth one-tenth of Gurley’s value, but a fifth rounder (Kyren Williams) is the closest.

WR1 – Cooper Kupp, 69th overall in 2017

WR2 – Puka Nacua, 177th overall in 2023

Snead picked four receivers in his first two years on the job (Brian Quick, Chris Givens, Tavon Austin, Stedman Bailey) but it wasn’t until his sixth year that he finally hit a home run.

It took another six years to do it again with Nacua, which unfortunately means that those two receivers spent fewer games together than fans would have hoped.

Receiver is on the table in the draft, but less so now that L.A. has added Davante Adams.

TE – Tyler Higbee, 110th overall in 2016

Nailing this position is a struggle for every team, not just the Rams. Efforts to help or supplant Higbee such as Gerald Everett and Brycen Hopkins have fallen short. If Snead doesn’t get Colston Loveland in the first round, which he almost certainly won’t, there many intriguing options on day two.

LT – Alaric Jackson, undrafted in 2021

I’m going to need the congregation to cut me some slack here, if necessary, because Les Snead has never drafted a good left tackle despite his attempt with Greg Robinson as the second overall pick in 2014.

Since the Rams signed Andrew Whitworth in 2017, the position wasn’t open until his retirement in 2022, at which point the job was in shambles (remember Ty Nsekhe?) until Jackson won the job in 2023 and has since retained it. But tackle could be L.A.’s first target in the draft this year despite extending Jackson for three more years.

LG – David Edwards, 169th overall in 2019

Not only did Edwards start 45 games for the Rams (35 at left guard), he has been locked into the same job with the Bills, which means that other teams also see value in Snead’s pick here. That’s rarer than we probably assume.

Steve Avila could definitely be better than Edwards, but he needs to stay healthy and we’re not even entirely sure yet if he’s a guard or a center. If he’s a center, Avila could end up winning the job on this roster as the best center but he hasn’t played there yet.

C – Brian Allen, 111th overall in 2018

The mans helped the Rams win the Super Bowl! Do we really have to rob him of this title while Beaux Limmer is still a player with more to prove? I’m sure Limmer or Avila will win this title of “all-team best Snead picks roster” in the near future, but give Allen his credit this one time.

RG – Joe Noteboom, 89th overall in 2018

So I am 100% cheating here. Sorry. Would you rather I picked Jamon Brown? Bobby Evans? The Rams were a shitshow at right guard until rotating through Austin Blythe, then Austin Corbett, and finally hitting the jackpot with the trade for Kevin Dotson in 2023. I guess we could also slot Avila here if we’re cheating, but Avila will get his due.

I’m not sure if Noteboom has even played right guard, but he will always hold the title of “most overpaid backup of all-time” because he has $35 million career earnings despite never once outright winning a starting job and even today he’s a free agent that no other teams want.

But I couldn’t put Bobby Evans here.

RT – Rob Havenstein, 57th overall in 2015

From worst value to maybe the most underrated, Havenstein quietly enters his 11th NFL season and all with the same team. Career earnings? About $72 million.

The Rams have to figure out what’s next at right tackle, whether that’s Warren McClendon (probably not) or something else, and it could be the one position this year that’s arguably worth moving up for in the first round. I’d still say that’s highly unlikely, but maybe L.A. would jump up a small amount for a Josh Simmons or a Josh Conerly.